A Conversation and a Test
Sam Aurelius Milam III
In
a recent conversation with a friend, I asserted that the power of the U.S.
government today isn't any less absolute than was that of medieval governments.
My friend objected. He claimed that there's a big difference between
those past governments and the present U.S. government. That difference,
he insisted, is that we have due process, and that they didn't. Due
process, he claimed, gives us a means to prevent or to redress abuses of
power by the U.S. government.
My
friend understands due process to be a doctrine, or maybe a set of procedures,
by which the powers of the government are managed in such a way as to protect
people from abuse. Known past events and the present circumstances
of American society don't support his opinion. In fact, there isn't
any such thing as due process, as my friend understands it. There
is due process of law, but that's a different thing entirely.
Due
process of law is mentioned only twice in the U.S. constitution.
| ...
nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law....
—Amendment 5
...
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law....
—Amendment 14
|
Neither
of those provisions prevents the U.S. government from depriving someone
of life, liberty, or property. Quite the contrary. Each of
them empowers it to do so, provided only that such deprivation has been
authorized by due process of law.
Regarding
due process of law, the U.S. constitution provides this carte blanche.
| ...[The
Congress shall have power] To make all laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other
powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States,
or in any department or officer thereof.
—U.S. constitution
Article I, Section 8, clause 18 |
Thus,
the legislation itself is all of the due process of law that's needed.
Only the Congress gets to decide what's necessary and proper. The
people don't have any control over the enactment of such legislation.
There isn't any effective limit on such legislation, or on the powers that
it can authorize. Due process, as my friend understands it, is a
myth. It doesn't exist. I tried to explain that to him but
he was unconvinced.
My
friend asserted that it's possible, nowadays, to use the courts to overturn
bad legislation. In fact, a person who accomplishes that loses more
than he gains.
| Appearance.
... The voluntary submission to a court's jurisdiction....
—Black's Law Dictionary
1979 |
To
appear in court at all, win or lose, is to voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction
of the court and, thereby, to the jurisdiction of the government.
By voluntarily petitioning a court to overturn bad legislation, even if
he wins, a petitioner acknowledges, legitimizes, and submits to the authority
behind the legislation. My friend remained unconvinced.
My
friend also claimed that the U.S. government is less authoritative than
those medieval kingdoms because it's possible, nowadays, to go into the
courts and seek some kind of relief. I tried to explain that the
people's ability to beg the government for mercy, exceptions, or leniency
doesn't disprove the absolute power of the government. In fact, such
appeals are a tacit acknowledgment of that power. After all, the
decisions of the courts are final and they will be enforced. Again,
my friend was unconvinced.
The
authority of the U.S. government is every bit as final and as absolute
as was the authority of any king who ever ruled. If the present regime
happens to be temporarily benevolent, then that doesn't keep it from being
absolute. Governments with absolute authority don't need to stay
benevolent. The U.S. government will punish anyone who refuses to
obey. It will initiate the use of force against anyone who resists
the punishment. It will kill anyone who resists effectively.
Anybody who doesn't believe me can test my claims for himself. He
can test them by refusing to obey the U.S. government and then by resisting
the punishment. I'll write to him in prison, if he survives the test.
| October 2018 | Frontiersman,0c/o
4984 Peach Mountain Drive, Gainesville, Georgia 30507
http://frontiersman.org.uk/ |
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