"Let It Come!"
By Chuck Baldwin
During Patrick Henry's famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech, he
said the following:
"Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We
are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth and listen to the song of
that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise
men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to
be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear
not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my
part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole
truth, to know the worst and to provide for it."
Later in his historic speech Henry said, "Three millions of people, armed in
the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess,
are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides,
Sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides
over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our
battles for us. The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone. It is to the
vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, Sir, we have no election. If we
were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the
contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are
forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is
inevitable. And let it come! I repeat it, Sir, let it come!"
Of course, Henry ended his stirring speech with the immortal words, "Is life
so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take,
but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
(The complete text of Patrick Henry's immortal address on March 23, 1775, is
found in my giant compilation of great, historic documents called THE
FREEDOM DOCUMENTS, which may be ordered exclusively at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/products.html )
Many people today (including the vast majority of my Christian brethren) are
doing exactly what Patrick Henry said many were doing 234 years ago: they
prefer to "shut [their] eyes against a painful truth." Just as in 1775, many
today, "having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not."
Serious students of history, however, cannot mistake the similarities
between the British Crown in 1775 and the federal government in Washington,
D.C., today. In fact, I would argue that federal usurpations of State
sovereignty, personal liberty, and constitutional government are far more
egregious today than at any time during the reign of old King George III.
Were America's Founding Fathers alive today, they would have waged another
war for independence years ago. Compared to the violations of liberty by the
federal government in 2009, the abridgements of liberty committed by the
Crown in 1775 were miniscule. We should all hang our heads in shame that we
have not already exerted our right and responsibility as free people to
"throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for [our] future
security" (Declaration of Independence, Paragraph 2). Were we as righteous
as our forebears, we would have already done so.
If we were writing a Declaration of Independence today, in which we would
"let Facts be submitted to a candid world," the examples of federal abuse of
power would be so multitudinous it would be difficult to contain them to a
single document. The question is not, "Has the current federal government
become tyrannical?" The question is, "How long will the States continue to
tolerate it?"
For example, within the last couple of months, the States of Montana and
Tennessee have each passed their own "Firearms Freedom Act." Briefly stated,
the bills provide that any firearms or ammunition that are manufactured,
sold, and kept within the State are not subject to federal law or federal
regulation. Clearly, Montana and Tennessee have the Second, Ninth, and Tenth
Amendments to the U.S. Constitution on their side.
Of course, the Constitution doesn't matter to the federal government. On
July 16 of this year, BATFE Assistant Director Carson Carroll sent an "Open
Letter" to all firearms dealers within the States of Tennessee and Montana,
telling them in no uncertain terms, "Federal law supersedes the [Tennessee
or Montana] Act, and all provisions of the Gun Control Act and the National
Firearms Act, and their corresponding regulations, continue to apply."
You see folks, in the minds of the politicians and bureaucrats in
Washington, D.C., there is no such thing as constitutional government. There
is no such thing as State autonomy. There is no such thing as balance of
power. To the miscreants in Washington, D.C., there is only federal
authority. To them, these States United are merely colony-subjects, who must
bow to an omnipotent, ubiquitous federal power that knows no limits and no
boundaries.
I hope and pray that the Tennessee and Montana governors, State
legislatures, and State supreme courts will tell Mr. Carroll "where to go,"
and will defend their State sovereignties "to the end." And by the same
token, I hope and pray that dozens more states will put teeth to their State
Sovereignty resolutions and follow the examples of Montana and Tennessee.
Add to the continual usurpations of State sovereignty the fact that both the
Republican and Democratic parties in Washington, D.C., have allowed our
once-great free enterprise system to become a giant socialist economy, and
the outlook only gets bleaker. This is why Republicans in D.C. have no moral
credibility in opposing President Barack Obama's Marxist-style universal
health care proposals. Under George W. Bush, the Republican Party expanded
socialism in America like no administration in recent history. Now they are
going to oppose the Democrat version of socialism? What a joke!
The only difference between the economic policies of the Democrats and
Republicans in Washington, D.C., is Democrats want to tax-and-spend America
into socialism for the benefit of the Welfare State, while Republicans want
to borrow-and-spend America into socialism for the benefit of the Warfare
State. Neither party wants to confine Washington, D.C., to the prescribed
limits of the U.S. Constitution. And neither party in Washington, D.C., is
willing to recognize the constitutional authority and autonomy of the States
United.
Given the fact that both parties are hell-bent on destroying constitutional
government, dismantling State sovereignty, and trampling individual
liberties, it seems painfully obvious to me that a war for State
independence is inevitable. Just exactly what that means is unknown at this
point, but all of the elements and ingredients that existed in 1775 exist
today. In fact, in view of the battle currently taking place between
Nashville/Helena and Washington, D.C., the war has--for all intents and
purposes--already begun. And unlike many of my Christian brethren who want
to "shut [their] eyes against a painful truth," I say with Patrick Henry,
"Let it come! I repeat it, Sir, let it come!"
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