I really don’t know what goes on inside the heads of most people. I’m not saying they are stupid, at least not all of them, because many of them do jobs that are far too complex for me to even begin to understand. However, that being said, due to the fact that they can’t see what his happening in this country would lead one to believe that they were…stupid that is.

According to Gallup the approval rating of Congress currently sits at around 14%. That means for every 100 people, 86 of them think Congress is doing poorly. The last time Congress’s approval rating was over 20% was in 2012 and the last time it was at 50% was in 2003. I don’t mention the approval ratings for the president because they fluctuate more since the occupant of that office changes every four to eight years and do not give as clear a picture of how people view their government overall. So for now, let’s just say that for more than ten years less than half the people of this country have felt that Congress has been doing a good job.

Much of the displeasure with government is most likely attributed to partisan politics, the seemingly ever widening rift between the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress that account for all this so-called gridlock. People expect their government to do things and when they see all this partisan bickering going on it causes them to form negative opinions as to how well Congress is doing its job.

Yet there is a small percentage of people, myself being one of them, in this country who see another rift in government, that rift being the distance to which the powers wields by government being increasingly further from the powers delegated government by the Constitution.

All government, be it State or Federal, is delegated power…delegated by the people to representatives of their choosing for specific purposes which are outlined in Constitutions. The moment those in power overstep the limits these Constitutions impose upon these representatives they become tyrants. John Locke described this principle in his Second Treatise of Civil Government thusly, “Where-ever law ends, tyranny begins, if the law be transgressed to another’s harm; and whosoever in authority exceeds the power given him by the law, and makes use of the force he has under his command, to compass that upon the subject, which the law allows not, ceases in that to be a magistrate; and, acting without authority, may be opposed, as any other man, who by force invades the right of another.”

When, in 1785, James Madison wrote his Memorial and Remonstrance, he stated,

“It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties–we hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens, and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle.”

What that means is that our Founders did not wait until their oppressor, the King of England, had passed numerous laws which violated their rights as freemen. Instead upon the first act of their King which violated their rights they openly opposed it, denying the principle that the King had the authority to deprive them of even a part of their liberty.

This jealousy for their liberty carried over under the system of government established by the Constitution as well. When John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts it was seen as such a violation of the rights of the people, and of the States, that Adam’s own vice President, Thomas Jefferson opposed his actions, drafting the Kentucky Resolutions. In comments made on 10 November 1798 Jefferson states, “In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”

However, over the next 200 some odd years, whether due to apathy, or a weakening of our resolve, those chains Jefferson spoke of have lain useless and our government has, as Madison said our Founders did not allow, precedents have been set by the continued exercise of undelegated powers by our government.

I saw a graphic the other day which was basically the catalyst for this entire article. It stated, “Everyone has a breaking point, I’ve reached mine.” I’m not alone in this. There are those of us who have tried working within the system by voting for candidates we felt stood the best chance of adhering to the limits the Constitution prescribes for government. We have patiently written letters, and called the office of our elected representatives, voicing our disapproval over legislation being debated on the floor of Congress. Nevertheless we have seen our efforts pretty much fail as government has continued to grow, with a corresponding decrease in the liberty we enjoy.

We understand that those in power will seek to expand their power…it is just human nature and we understand that. What we don’t understand is why you people tolerate it. Had you, the American people, done your duty as voters, those who violated our rights would have been the recipients of a shit-storm of anger over their actions, and had they not changed their wicked ways they would have been voted out of office at the first opportunity which presented itself. Instead we see these criminals continually re-elected over and over again while the whole time you blame the ‘other’ party for grid-locking government.

It’s way too late for us to be worrying about our government setting precedents for their continued assumptions of power…the precedents have been set. The inevitable question then arises, when will enough be enough?

Had you paid attention in American History class you would have seen that our Founders did not just suddenly up and revolt against their rightful ruler. It absolutely boggles my mind how so many people today cannot see history repeating itself right in front of their eyes.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence he stated, “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” Jefferson then went on to list some of these injuries. He then continued by saying, “In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”

Those two sections of the Declaration of Independence describe exactly how me, and a small percentage of other Americans feel. We see our petitions to our representatives fall upon deaf ears because we are a minority and the majority, (YOU), continue to ask government to do these things which both violate the Constitution and restrict our rights. H. L. Mencken once said, “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” I can almost hear people’s thoughts now; “Gee Neal, such violent thoughts, such anger.” You’re damned right I’m angry, you would be too if you cared as much about this country as I do.

A good many people consider me unpatriotic because I do not stand behind the actions of my government, especially in this War on Terror. I stand behind my government as much as it deserves my support, and if it violates the Constitution then I do not stand behind it. My loyalty lies with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, not the men and women who pervert those documents.

Let me tell you something else about your so-called patriotism. Adolf Hitler was elected democratically and the people stood behind him because of their sense of patriotism. Look how well that worked out for them. In 1990 Edward Abbey wrote A Voice Crying in the Wilderness, wherein he says, “A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” That is patriotism, not blind obedience and tolerance for continued violations of your liberty!

I hear many today who profess to be Christians who say that they are simply awaiting the return of Jesus for all things to be made well again, or at least for Him to take His Chosen out of the turmoil during the Rapture. While it is all well and good for you to prepare for the time when Christ will return, to live your life according to His teachings, had our Founders felt as you do now we would still be British Colonies. They did not sit around waiting for the return of Jesus, they took up arms and fought for their God-given rights! You have to remember, when a motto for the Great Seal of the United States was sought after Thomas Jefferson suggested, “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”

You may be saying that by what I say I am seeking rebellion. Not true, as John Adams wrote in 1774 “We are told: ‘It is a universal truth, that he that would excite a rebellion, is at heart as great a tyrant as ever wielded the iron rod of oppression.’ Be it so. We are not exciting a rebellion. Opposition, nay, open, avowed resistance by arms, against usurpation and lawless violence, is not rebellion by the law of God or the land. Resistance to lawful authority makes rebellion.” When our government has overstepped its lawful authority, and assumed powers which violate our rights, it is not rebellion, it is resistance to a tyrant.

You can mark my words it is coming. It may not come tomorrow, it may not come next week, it may not even come next year…but it IS coming. You have to remember our Founders had been resisting the injustices imposed upon them by the King of England for 11 years before the shot heard round the world was fired and the war for independence began. And what was this act, this shot heard round the world fired for? It was fired when the Kings men tried to take the guns away from the people at Lexington and Concord.

Like I said earlier, history is repeating itself right before your eyes and you aren’t even seeing it. In fact you are helping it along because many of you are calling for more and more restrictive gun laws to be passed in light of another shooting by a crazed gunman.

You may be saying but our intentions are good, we only want to stop more of these school shootings from happening. Well sorry, I don’t buy your pathetic excuse or reasoning, and neither would our Founders. In fact, Daniel Webster once said, “Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions.”

Another of our Founders, Andrew Fletcher, stated it thusly, “Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave.” James Madison, the Father of our Constitution, also declared, “The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

There is a saying that I’ve heard many in the pro-2nd Amendment crowd which states, “If you take away our guns only the criminals will have them.” While that may be true, the criminals we should be worrying about are the ones in our nations halls of power, if they take away our guns only the government will have them, and that is a lot more frightening to me.

As the title of this article says, there is a storm coming, I just don’t know when it will arrive. I do know that it would almost assuredly come if they try to disarm the people of this country. I think they know that as well as I do and instead they hope to chip away at our right to keep and bear arms incrementally until the right is all but useless.

But make no mistake, total disarmament of the people is their endgame. The reason why is best explained by something Noah Webster once said, “The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.”

There are those of us who see what they are trying to do, and we won’t stand for it. You can call us Oathkeepers, Three Percenters, or just plain old patriots, but we will never, and I mean NEVER, give up our guns. We know why our Founders wrote an amendment protecting our right to have them and we will not let anyone deprive us of that right.

As they stated in the debates on the 1790 Militia Act, “(C)conceived it to be the privilege of every citizen, and one of his most essential rights, to bear arms, and to resist every attack upon his liberty or property, by whomsoever made. The particular States, like private citizens, have a right to be armed, and to defend by force of arms, their rights when invaded.”

There is a storm coming people, and it is way overdue. As Jefferson so famously said, “And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

The last storm was 150 years ago and over half a million died when it came. How many will die in the next one, and will liberty or tyranny be the victor is anyone’s guess. I also know that there are worse things than death, so if it comes and I perish, well maybe that would be a blessing as I’d rather die a free man than live as a slave.

October 9, 2015

Neal Ross, Student of history, politics, patriot and staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment. Send all comments to: bonsai@syix.com Check out Neal’s books at: http://thebookshelf.us

If you liked Neal’s latest column, maybe you’ll like his latest booklet: The Civil War: (The Truth You Have Not Been Told) AND don’t forget to pick up your copy of ROSS: Unmasked