As we celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s founding on this 4th of July - our Independence Day - Clear The Bench Colorado salutes the ideals and principles that make the Unites States of America the greatest nation on earth.

Since Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is currently serving a tour of duty out of state, on this Independence Day we reprise an article written this time last year to commemorate the anniversary of our Declaration of Independence (published in the now-defunct Constitutionalist Today monthly).

A Nation of Citizens - Not Subjects

As We The People celebrate the 235th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence this year - entering our 236^th year as a nation - it is worth reflecting on that truly groundbreaking document and the unique, truly exceptional experiment in human governance represented by our founding documents, forming the very essence and exceptional character of the United States of America.

For the first time in human history - acknowledging the historical antecedents in Greek democracy and the Roman Republic, but nonetheless a radical departure from all that had come before - a nation was founded based on the principle of individual, unalienable rights, and putting government in its proper place of being the servant, not the master:

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal…”

Equality not of individual skill or ability, not station (or “class”) in life, not of achievement - but equality in rights before the law - unalienable rights, meaning rights that government does not have the authority to arbitrarily take away, even if it may have the power.

That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed…

Those who would argue that our rights come from government - that government comes first, and the citizenry should be content with what government gives them - are decisively rebuffed in our nation’s foundational documents, and the Spirit of America.  Government exists only to help secure our Rights - it does not grant them, our Rights are ours, pre-dating and superior to the existence of government.

Unfortunately - as did our forefathers at the time of the founding - We The People have experienced an increasing “History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.”

The growth of the Federal government in particular, but of state governments as well, to rule over an ever-increasing number of activities not the proper purview of government activity, directly threatens the freedoms, liberties, and yes, “unalienable Rights” of the citizens of these United States of America.

Are we, then, arrived at the need for a new Declaration of Independence against our grasping, grabbing, ever-growing Government?

As Citizens, we still maintain the Right, and the power, to bring our out-of-control government to heel.  We The People have allowed our government - through inattention and inactivity - to ignore the limits we have set for its power and authority.  Those limits are specified in another exceptional founding document - the U.S. Constitution - which lists (”enumerates“) the “just Powers” of our Federal government, just as our respective state Constitutions enumerate the powers and authority of the state governments.

Government transgressions against the Constitution (at either the Federal or state levels) are an assault on the liberties and individual rights of the citizens.  As citizens, we must not - we cannot - tolerate such assaults, or we shall inevitably be deprived of our status as citizens, and instead become subjects - the ruled, not the rulers.

Stand as a Citizen this year (and every year) - refuse to become a subject.  Restore constitutional limits to the powers of government, and hold government officials at all levels, in all three branches - accountable to the law.  Remember, the Constitution is our law, limiting government power over us; don’t let it be taken from you, along with your rights.

In Colorado, we have a unique opportunity every two years to hold not just our elected officials (our legislators and executive-branch officeholders) accountable, but the appointed officials in our judiciary as well - those who should be the guardians of our constitutional rights, but many of whom instead have acted repeatedly to weaken and undermine our constitutional rights.

Our form of government - a constitutionally limited “Republic, if you can keep it” - is worthy of our best efforts in its defense.

This unique experiment in human governance, that has lasted more than two centuries - this

“government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not [MUST NOT!] perish from the earth.”

Clear The Bench Colorado will, with your support, continue to promote transparency and accountability in the Colorado judiciary, informing the public to increase awareness of the substantial public policy implications of an unrestrained activism and political agendas in the courts.  We will continue to work to educate voters and provide information of relevance related to the judicial branch, and to provide useful and substantive evaluations of judicial performance.

However, we can’t do it alone -  we need your continued support; via your comments (Sound Off!) and, yes, your contributions.  Freedom isn’t free -nor is it always easy to be a Citizen, not a subject.

Ultimately, though - it’s worth the effort.

As we celebrate our Independence Day today, remember: Freedom isn’t Free.

 Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold has been invited to reprise his debut appearance at the April 15th Tax Day Tea Party rally (a massive event in Denver, and extremely well-attended around the country, despite mass media attempts to downplay or discredit these grassroots events) at the Independence Day Tea Party Patriotic Celebration cookout event in Arvada on Saturday, July 4th.

Independence Day Tea Party Patriotic Celebration. Pioneer Park Pavilion, 9101 Ralston Road, Arvada, CO from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m

Unlike the April 15th Tax Day Tea Party, this event is not intended to be a massive rally, but instead a more laid-back, friendly (and family-friendly) celebration of our national Independence Day.  There will be a few speakers, around 2-3 PM, but the major focus is on observing the 4th of July among friends, either long-time or just-made.

This is just one of the many events across Colorado, and across the country, associated with the Tea Party movement this July 4th - for one in your area, refer to the Guide to Colorado Tea Parties on the Fourth of July.  To quote from that source:

On the day we remember our nation’s declaration of independence from tyranny and oppressive government, a new breed of patriots will reconvene at public spaces around Colorado and the nation. While these new patriots may be attending the tea parties for varied reasons, the common thread bringing them together is the concept that our government’s power is derived from the people.

The impromptu grassroots events that sprouted up on April 15 this year reenergized many Coloradans. They banded together to ensure that their collective voice of dissatisfaction with the course being charted by our nation’s elected officials was heard loud and clear. 

Let your voice be heard loud and clear - not only this July 4th, as we celebrate our Independence Day, but also in November 2010 at the polls. 

Vote “NO” on unjust justices in 2010 - don’t retain the Mullarkey Majority!