From: nelson@crynwr.com (Russell Nelson)
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 94 09:09:48 PDT
To: snyderra@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu
Subject: Re: Gee...
In-Reply-To: <199404280623.CAA07975@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu>
Message-ID: <m0pwWcR-000IDpC@crynwr>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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   Date: Thu, 28 Apr 1994 02:24:39 -0400
   From: snyderra@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu (Bob Snyder)

   At 12:21 PM 4/27/94 -0700, Sandy Sandfort wrote:

   >The Constitution and other laws are not magic talismans.  It is fantasy
   >thinking that technical compliance with the government's laws renders
   >them "completely powerless."  A Smith & Wesson beats four-of-a-kind.

   I'm not sure I understand what you are saying here.  Them being the laws or
   the government?

He's saying that power is granted to the government by the people.
The Constitution is an agreement between the people and the
government.  As long as the government obeys the Constitution, the
people will support it.  That's why the executive branch (at very
least) swears to uphold the Constitution.

It's up to the people to ensure that the government comply with the
Constitution.  It's not the government's job to enforce the
Constitution against itself, although, the Constitution is structured
so as to present the three branches of government with a zero-sum
game.  The plan is that the easiest way a branch can get more power is
to take it from another branch.  That way, the government gets
involved with fighting amongst itself for power rather than taking
more from the people.

You might enjoy Gene Sharp's three-book set entitled _The Politics of
Nonviolent Action_.  It goes into great depth on the source of
governmental power over people.

-russ <nelson@crynwr.com>      ftp.msen.com:pub/vendor/crynwr/crynwr.wav
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