Comment & Debate
Thomas Jefferson: “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” Another example is Thomas Paine, who said: “It is the duty of every patriot to protect his country from its government.” Many people seem to be under the impression that our constitution grants the rights we should have. This is a falicy. All rights are assumed to every individual. The constitution as meant to restrict the federal government’s right to regulate or limit the rights we already have. Asking whether we should have the right to choose the use of marijuana is inherently a mute point as a result. The real question here is whether the federal government should be allowed the authority to take away that right. Many people hold manditory seat-belt laws and other forms of “for your own good” legeslation as being an inherent contradiction to the spirit of the constitution. it could be argued (with the exact same arguments as this issue) that the prohibition of candy and fast food would be for our own good as well… yet would directly contradict the quote sited above and would nullify the spirit under which the constitution was penned. In our society, there may be the EXISTANCE of big brother laws (as is there the existance of dishonesty amoung our politicians), but that does NOT mean those laws are constitutionally valid and it certainly does NOT mean that we should accept all new big brother laws as being acceptable on that basis alone.