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Is functional illiteracy a requirement to be a government official?

By Ed Lewis

Is functional illiteracy a requirement to be a government official?  It must be – at least in terms of practical application.  The reason is that the most important document of this country, the Constitution, is totally ignored.  It is bad enough when citizens do not observe the Constitution, but, when government officials do not observe it, they are committing treason, plain and simple. 

One might excuse ignorance but only for so long.  And that time is long past due.  Granted, many current legislators – regardless of the level of government - have gone through the same dummying down system known as public education that results in people being “constitutionally challenged”.  But, when each was elected and took over the duties of his office, his duty became to uphold the Constitution.

Duty demands that the Constitution is learned inside and out by elected officials if they are to uphold it.  This does not mean to learn the many repugnant rulings from courts or interpretations made by others – it means to learn IT.  How else can they uphold the Constitution if they do not know what it says?  The Constitution is not hard to read and to understand, as it was written for the people without any intent of misleading them -- the antithesis of documents and laws written by modern legislators.

Let’s take an example.  The current resident of the White House recently issued an Executive Order (EO No. 13233) that would keep presidential papers secret, including those of his father and former Presidents Reagan and Clinton, along with his own.   Never mind the timing and its possible relation to the Enron bankruptcy.  Does the President of the United States have the power to make laws?  This must be asked, since any order by a president would be no different than an order issued by a despot or other dictator.  Didn’t the people of this country once fight a war to be freed of tyrannical dictatorial control?  Is it conceivable that these people – including the framers of the Constitution – wanted a government leader to have the same powers of abuse of kings and military dictators? 

The Supreme Law of the Land should answer this question.  And it does.  One can easily understand the Constitutional provisions in Article II, Sections 2 and 3.  There are no hard, complicated words, phrases, or meanings.  A president – regardless of being called the “most powerful man in the world” – does not have the power to  make laws.  Article 1 is quite clear as to legislative (law-making) authority.

Article I, Section 1.  “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”

This provision does not state “in part” or “excepting” law-making authority given to the Executive Branch or Judicial Branch.  It states ALL legislative powers are vested in a Congress of the United States.  Congress is only the Senate and House of Representatives.  “All” means:  “every single one”; “every one of”; “each and every one”; “every part of”; and “altogether”.  In other words, there are no exceptions – only Congress has the authority to make laws.  Furthermore, Article I does not give Congress any authority to delegate any law-making authority to either the Executive or Judicial branches of government. 

The Constitution in fact gives the President very little authority to do anything without the permission of Congress.  He may make suggestions and recommendations.  His primary duty is the same duty shared by every executive officer of any level of government.  It is described as:

“…he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…” Article II, Section 3

This phrase demands he must assure the Laws are faithfully executed.  “Faithfully” means adhering to a cause or idea and being loyal; worthy of trust or belief – being reliable; and consistent with truth or actuality (American Heritage Dictionary.) 

This provision is in addition to the Oath of Office the President swears or affirms to, and to Article VI, Clause 3 of the Constitution that requires all members of the legislatures, the executives, and judicial officers of the United States and the several States to support the Constitution. 

Has the above been difficult to understand?  Not for most people, but the meanings seem to escape those in government.  If the President – or any other officer in government – allows any limitation of the Constitution to be ignored or circumvented in some fashion, it is a breach of faith, and it is a violation of constitutional lawful duty.  (Article VI, Clause 3.)

Thus, any person (meaning any entity) in the Executive or Judicial branches who assume law-making authority, and use coercion and force to enforce the “laws”, violates more than one of the provisions of the Constitution.  Each fails miserably in his duty to the people by flagrantly violating constitutional provisions and, in most instances, enters the realm of being a “criminal”.  Thus, we come to Section 4 of Article II.

“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, and other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

And, that, Folks, is the subject no one wants to talk about while under these times of misplaced patriotism and military actions when war has not been declared.  But, this subject must be discussed.  We either have a free society or we do not.   If the provisions of the Constitution are no longer binding on the government created by the people, then a new and different government has taken control.  The “new” government does not preserve and protect the rights of the people but, instead, has established what is essentially a dictatorship enforced by armed marauders.

It saddens many people greatly that the over 13000 Executive Orders and millions of laws made and applied unconstitutionally to the Republics and people making up the Republics, indicates that ours is now a dictatorship form of government, not a country of free people.  But that seems to be the fact, especially when one hears of the horror stories of government criminal actions against people, from those committed by “law enforcers” (armed, military-like government employees paid to enforce unconstitutional laws) to the death blows to freedom in the government courtrooms across the country.

One must conclude that either the people in government cannot read or they ignore what they read for their own self-serving interests.  Either way, they are not the people that should be in government, whether federal, state, or political subdivision governments and whether in the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of those governments.  In the first case, they cannot know what they are to defend and uphold and – in the second case –they ignore what they are to defend and uphold. 

I guess you might say, Folks, that I am sick and tired of the rhetoric that produces increased corruption and moves us deeper into the abyss of being subjects or slaves to a bunch of people known as “public servants” and further away from being “free”.  If not caused by functional illiteracy, it must be caused by intentional criminal intent to continue defrauding the American public.

I leave you with this.  If an official cannot write and speak of his own mind, and if the official cannot describe in his owns words his exact duty to the People and behave as his duty requires, then how can any statement made by the official be considered his values and indicative of patriotism – loyalty – to the principles this union of Republics was founded on?

(Editor’s note:  Don’t expect anything to change until the people read and understand the Constitution and demand that their elected officials adhere to it.)

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