A few days ago I found myself re-reading The Bill of Rights. Interestingly, what struck me was the 10th Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” I then happened to see a video clip of the late George Carlin doing one of his comedy routines where he laments, “All we’ve ever had in this country is a bill of ‘temporary’ privileges.” Looking back at US history and current events I couldn’t help wonder if his sentiment was true. I examined state versus federal government rights to rule and examined my personal rights and liberties where I had rule and not the state, all the while asking ‘have liberties granted been lost to either the state or federal governments?’

I first examined a simple matter, the recent passage of the seat belt law here in Maine. On the outset it doesn’t seem to be an issue of personal liberties. But as I examined the state’s responsibilities I concluded the state does have a right to protect the public safety. To that end, if the public or public employees are riding in vehicles paid for by tax dollars and owned by the public then legislation requiring all those who ride public transportation or utilizing government vehicles to wear seatbelts is fine. If they get injured while riding a public transport, we the people should not have to pay the bill for their medical care.

But if a citizen is driving or riding in their private vehicle, they should not be forced to wear a seatbelt by the state. The vehicle is personal property and not property of the state or local government. If they go flying out the car window during an accident the only life endangered is their own. The state does not have the right to take away personal choice. For a lot less funds than what it cost to enforce this law, the state could focus its efforts on public service announcements which would be far more effective. Conclusion: liberty lost.

The next item I examined was Real ID. Personally, this one is conflicting for me. I clearly see the need for tighter security, especially after Sept. 11. Most do. However, when emotions are removed, this one quickly points back to the 10th Amendment. The Real ID law is not a power granted to the federal government and no reasonable case can be made to substantiate it as constitutional. This country has found solutions to tougher issues. If the brain trust in Washington, D.C. could get their act together, I’m sure, with the cooperation of the states, we could come up with a better plan, one led by the states, as is their constitutional responsibility to do so. Conclusion (if passed): Major loss of state rights to the federal government and significant loss of personal liberties.

After looking at several issues and topics I concluded George Carlin was right. The Bill of Rights has become a document of shrinking liberties. Even a cursory look at our history demonstrates we’ve been letting the government take over. The error was in role reversals. Hoover promised a chicken in every pot. FDR promised the federal government would take care of us, when all the while, “We the People” were supposed to be taking care of the federal government, making sure they held up our freedoms and liberties.

“We the People, in order to form a more perfect union…” let’s break that down, a union between who, the people and the government or the government and the people? It doesn’t read, “We the government, in order to form a more perfect union,” and it doesn’t for a reason. The union is between us and the government with the “us” coming first. Our founding fathers gave us The Bill of Rights in order to ensure we the people are head of this union. But slowly, ever so slowly, we have been losing them.

We’ve fought for these freedoms; we’ve died for them. I myself served in order to protect them. With each battle, and each war we proclaim, our military is fighting so we can be free. But let me ask, how is fighting for the freedom and liberties of others in foreign lands worth the high cost if our own freedoms are not wrapped in a blanket of liberty? I don’t mean that as a statement for or against the Iraq war, but I have to ask, how do we ask citizens to fight and die while we continue to elect and support a government trying so hard to limit or remove their liberties?

It is questions like these, and many others, that have left me disenfranchised with the two major parties. it is the knowledge that if things don’t change, if personal liberties and freedoms don’t get top priority they will be lost. And once a liberty is taken, only revolution can bring it back.

Look around, and start asking yourself does the government (federal, state or local) have to do this for me or can we find a better way? Do we really need a law making it a crime to remove a shopping cart from the parking lot it came from? This year, and for the foreseeable future, I will be fighting, with my vote, for liberty.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you only have two choices. There are other choices. And please, don’t believe the party lies about wasting your vote. To quote John Quincy Adams: “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone…” It would also be wise to heed the words of Thomas Jefferson: “The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.” Or of Patrick Henry, who said: “The constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.”

Michael C. Bardier,

New Gloucester