Sentinels of the Republic Foundations

We the Sentinels of the Republic, recognize two primary documents as the foundation for our beliefs in matters pertaining to government and the People. Those two documents are, The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States (including the first ten amendments; The Bill of Rights).

The Declaration of Independence serves as witness and record to posterity, that man is born with “certain Unalienable Rights” granted by God, not by man or by government, and that any infringements upon these rights are not just to be frowned upon but a cause for a fight to the death. Furthermore we recognize The Declaration enumerates specific grievances against the King. These specific grievances were laid out in an orderly fashion, not only for the King and for the sovereign People of the several States, but for the generations to come, that we may know exactly what a tyranny looks like and weigh all laws, taxes and governmental actions against this picture of a tyranny. We also believe that, the signers of The Declaration by its strength of its words and their mark of signature and endorsement, left no doubt that the principles and charges within, were so important, their very lives were worth forfeiting in the purpose of the advancement of its principles. The Declaration of Independence is the mission statement of the United States of America, the spirit of its people and the most orthodox document on record when the “spirit” or intent of The Constitution is in question.

The Constitution of the United States of America is the foundation of our Republic. In a Republic the “Law is King” and not government officers or representatives. In the US, The Constitution is King and the only supreme authority in matters between man, the States and the national government. It is imperative to understand that The Constitution is a compact between the States by the People. It’s a written understanding of how they (the states and the People) will relate to their created being, their servant; the national government. It is also very important to understand that the States created the national government not the inverse and that it was only created, after each state agreed.

In a case such as ours, where the power is held in an inanimate object, those who lust for power find refuge in word-smithing, revisionism and legal jargon as a means to confuse the people and seize power. They wish for you to believe that the document is “living” and will change with the times or they would like you to believe it is too complicated fro the common man to grasp; neither is true. As evidenced by the historical record, The Constitution was written for the common man to understand, and each word was chosen painstakingly as not to be misunderstood or convoluted to serve the desires of a tyrant. Understanding this, we must specify quite simply how The Constitution must be interpreted in full orthodoxy.

The most primary sources for Constitutional interpretation

1) The Declaration of Independence (see prior)

2) The Preamble to The Constitution. This often ignored segment of the Constitution is probably the most important. The Preamble is the Executive Summary. Any interpretation of the Constitution that conflicts with the Preamble is quite suspect. For instance, the excerpt, “…secure the Blessings of Liberty”, tell us three things…Blessings are from God, hence the capitalization, Liberty is a gift from God, and first and foremost the Constitution is set apart to SECURE the Blessings of Liberty. Secure is a strong word indeed and notably chosen over the word “promote” which is also used in The Preamble.

3) Documents, letters and meeting minutes of discussions on The Constitution, recorded BEFORE its ratification, ONLY. These documents include, The Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, The Articles of Confederation and such. It is important that we exclude writings from any of the founders after the date of ratification, no matter how artfully written. Revisionism started the day after ratification.

4) Period dictionaries- Our language changes with each generation. Strong words become weak and visa-versa. As mentioned before, every word was carefully chosen in the Constitution and the Declaration, therefore we must not assume modern day meanings are accurate. One such instance is in what is known as the “Commerce Clause.” In that clause the word regulate was used. Today regulate is synonymous with control or overlord, however in the day of the Constitution it meant, “to make regular; the meaning is astonishingly different.

Finally, it is important to grasp that The Constitution involves three parties: The Sovereign People of the States, The States and the created being, the United States National government. The Constitution enumerates certain powers that the National government must carry out, and strictly forbids any activity beyond those prescribed limits. Furthermore the Constitution also reserves any other imaginable power, to the States or the People. As an amplification to the intent of the Constitution, The Bill of Rights was added to protect the People and the States from the National government, and the People from injustice from the States as well.