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Constitutional Observance Speech
By George Allen, Jr.
San Jose Masonic Center
September 3, 2004

On July 4th 1776, one of America's historic documents was signed in the city of Philadelphia: The Declaration of Independence. The closing words solemnly declare: "With a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

The 56 courageous men who signed that document understood that this was not a Sunday School Picnic. If they succeeded the best they could expect would be years of hardship. If they lost, they would face a hangman's noose.

Of the 56, few were long to survive. Five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes, from Rhode Island to Charleston, sacked, looted, occupied by the enemy, or burned. Two lost their sons. One had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 died in the war, either from its hardships or its bullets.

These 56 men were not poor or wild-eyed pirates. They were men of means; rich men, most of them, who enjoyed much ease and luxury in their personal lives. Not hungry men, but prosperous men. Wealthy land owners, secure in their prosperity and respected in their communities. But they considered liberty much more important. They pledged their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor. They paid the price. And Freedom was born.

The Revolution gave us "Freedom". The Constitution gave us "The Means To Keep It".

On the 217th birthday of the Constitution, how much do most people really know about it?

A National Survey on "The Americans Public Knowledge of the U.S. Constitution", commissioned by the Hearst Corporation and released in February 1989, shows large gaps in public awareness:

Fifty-nine percent of Americans polled did not know what the Bill of Rights is; nearly half (46 percent) could not identify the purpose of the Constitution as creating a federal government and designating its powers; 75 percent thought the Constitution guarantees a free public education through high school; 64 percent believed the framers established English as the national language; 42 percent thought they had a Constitutional right to health care; 60 percent believed the President alone can appoint a supreme court judge; etc., etc.

It becomes almost impossible to support and preserve something if we are not really knowledgeable about it. Can we really fix or maintain something we are not intelligent about? Lets each of us test some of our knowledge with the following little quiz:

1. What major historical event did the United States celebrate in 1987?

[Bicentennial of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.]

2. What event was celebrated in 1976?

[Bicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.]

3. In 1787 where was the Constitutional convention held?

[Philadelphia, PA.]

4. For how many months did the convention meet?

[Four months.]

5. On what date did the convention delegates approve the Constitution?

[September 17,1787.]

6. Which state of the original 13 was not represented at the convention?

[Rhode Island.]

7. How many delegates signed the Constitution?

[39.]

8. How many of the signers were Masons?

[13 signers can be documented fully. For 17 others, membership in the fraternity is based on tradition of undocumented information.]

9. What are the first three words of the U.S. Constitution?

[We the people.]

10. Can you name the 13 original states?

[!]

There are perhaps some of us who could not immediately come up with all the correct answers. Perhaps this is just a little demonstration of the need for more knowledge about the Constitution.

I for one could use a little refresher course on the subject.

When God created man, he gave us certain inalienable "Rights", namely "Life Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness."

These Rights can neither be given nor taken away by government. Individuals may, however, choose to join others and form a government to protect their Rights. Government should be large enough to secure our God-given Rights, but not large enough to violate these Rights.

The U.S. Constitution limits the power of the federal government. Nevertheless, much that the federal government does today could be considered un-Constitutional. We have allowed this abuse of authority to occur because we have lost sight of some basic truths. We will only preserve the Freedoms we take for granted today if we understand the legacy of our founding fathers and get back to basics.

The first basic truth is that Freedom cannot exist without morality. Without sufficient character and moral guidance, we would be unable to govern ourselves. When morality declines, the abuse of Rights increases and more government becomes necessary.

Just as criminals need jailers and domesticated animals need herdsmen, an immoral citizenry needs a police state. When we reach that point, we have surrendered our Freedom.

Another basic truth is that self government requires an informed electorate. If we are not informed we will tend to vote for the politician who promises the most. We will vote for more and bigger government until one day we will have total government. An uninformed citizenry, whether moral or immoral, is likely to vote itself into slavery. Only a moral, well-informed citizenry will vote for men of principle who will work to limit government to its proper Constitutional role.

The third basic truth is that our Rights can only be secure under a limited government. Liberty is a way station between anarchy (which means no government) and totalitarianism (which means total government). If there were no government our Rights would not be secure.

Individuals acting alone would be unable to protect their liberty against the criminal acts of unjust man. In the absence of organized government, anarchy would prevail. Criminals would take control and enslave their fellow citizens. A system of total government control, however, world also jeopardize individual Rights. Such a government might grant its citizens privileges from time to time, but it could also takeaway these privileges on a whim. Whenever government has total power, individuals have none.

George Washington said and I quote: "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force! Like force it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master". Because our founding fathers realized that government, like fire, had to be contained - they gave us a government of laws, and not of men. They created a Republic and not a democracy.

A democracy is a majority rule and is destructive of liberty because there is no law to prevent the majority from trampling on individual Rights. A lynch mob is an example of a pure democracy. There is only one dissenting vote, and it is cast by the person at the end of the rope.

A Republic is a government of laws under a Constitution. The Constitution holds the government in check and prevents the majority (acting through their government) from violating the Rights of the minority. Under this system a lynch mob is illegal. The suspected criminal cannot be denied his right to a fair trial, even if a majority demands otherwise. Only under a "Government of Laws" will our God-given Rights be secure and remain secure.

Our founding fathers gave us a Republic; they greatly feared democracy. James Madison said, and I quote: "Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention, found incompatible with the Rights of property and have in general been violent in their deaths."

The U.S. Constitution does not contain the word "democracy". It does, however, guarantee to every state in the union a Republican form of government. In the pledge of allegiance to the flag, we pledge: "...to the Republic for which it stands". Our Constitutional fathers, familiar with the weakness of both autocracy and democracy, and with fixed principles in mind, defined a representative form of government. They made a very marked distinction between a Republic and a democracy, and indicated repeatedly that they had founded a Republic!

However, to express the basic method in which our Republic operates and to clearly indicate to the citizens the fact that they govern themselves through laws, we refer to our form of government as "a democracy" indicating, of the people, by the people and for the people.

The keystone of our Freedoms is best expressed in the American Credo.

The American people have been blessed with a Bill of Rights at least since 1791, when the ratification of the first ten Amendments to the Constitution was completed. There is reason to say "at least" since then, for when a great outcry went up that the Constitution framed in 1787 contained no Bill of Rights, the reply was made that the entire document was a charter of Rights and liberties. Both in the character of the original Constitution and in its specific details, that was true to a much greater extent than alarmed citizens realized. Yet as a charter of Freedom, it was woefully deficient. By oversight and underestimate, great gaps were left in the protective armor against governmental oppression and the tyranny of popular majorities. Responding to a nation wide demand, the First Congress of the United States undertook to supply what was missing. It seemed to have done so with the submission to the States, in 1789, of twelve Amendments, all of which were promptly ratified except two of trivial importance relating to the composition and pay of Congress.

THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS WHICH PROTECT THE DIGNITY AND FREEDOM OF THE INDIVIDUAL ARE THE BILL OF RIGHTS:

* RIGHT TO WORSHIP GOD IN ONE'S OWN WAY
* RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH AND PRESS
* RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE
* RIGHT TO PETITION FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES
* RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN OUR HOMES
* RIGHT TO RIGHT TO HABEAS CORPUS. NO EXCESSIVE BAIL
* RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY. INNOCENT TILL PROVED GUILTY
* RIGHT TO MOVE ABOUT FREELY AT HOME AND ABROAD
* RIGHT TO OWN PRIVATE PROPERTY
* RIGHT TO FREE ELECTIONS AND PERSONAL SECRET BALLOT
* RIGHT TO WORK IN CALLINGS AND LOCALITIES OF OWN CHOICE
* RIGHT TO BARGAIN WITH OUR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES
* RIGHT TO GO INTO BUSINESS, COMPETE, MAKE A PROFIT
* RIGHT TO BARGAIN FOR GOODS AND SERVICES IN A FREE MARKET
* RIGHT TO CONTRACT ABOUT OUR AFFAIRS
* RIGHT TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT AS A PROTECTOR AND REFEREE
* RIGHT TO FREEDOM FROM ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT REGULATION AND CONTROL

Now that we have heard of some of the Rights afforded us in the Bill of Rights, perhaps we should consider if we are entitled to these Rights!!!

HOW ABOUT A BILL OF RESPONSIBILITIES?

[Courtesy of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge]

BILL OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Preamble. Freedom and responsibility are mutual and inseparable; we can ensure enjoyment of the one only by exercising the other. Freedom for all of us depends on responsibility by each of us. To secure and expand our liberties, therefore, we accept these responsibilities as individual members of a free society:

To be fully responsible for our own actions and for the consequences of these actions.
Freedom to choose carries with it the responsibility for our choices.

To respect the rights and beliefs of others.
In a free society, diversity flourishes. Courtesy and consideration toward others are measures of a civilized society.

To give sympathy, understanding and help to others.
As we hope others will help us when we are in need, we should help others when they are in need.

To do our best to meet our own and our families' needs.
There is no personal Freedom without economic Freedom. By helping ourselves and those closest to us to become productive members of society, we contribute to the strength of the nation.

To respect and obey the laws.
Laws are mutually accepted rules by which, together, we maintain a free society. Liberty itself is built on a foundation of law. That foundation provides an orderly process for changing laws. It also depends on our obeying laws once they have been freely adopted.

To respect the property of others, both private and public.
No one has the right to what is not his or hers. The right to enjoy what is ours depends on our respecting the right of others to enjoy what is theirs.

To share with others our appreciation of the benefits and obligations of Freedom.
Freedom shared is Freedom strengthened.

To participate constructively in the nation's political life.
Democracy depends on an active citizenry. It depends equally on an informed citizenry.

To help Freedom survive by assuming personal responsibility for its defense.
Our nation cannot survive unless we defend it. Its security rests on the individual determination of each of us to help preserve it.

To respect the rights and to meet the responsibilities on which our liberty rests and our democracy depends.
This is the essence of Freedom. Maintaining it requires our common effort, all together and each individually.

Developed and distributed by Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.
Copyright 1985 by Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge;
http://www.ffvf.org/

Email to George Allen
From Patrick Bailey
October 2004

Dear George (and Hank),

I have scanned, typed in, and corrected exactly the copy of the Sept. 3, 2004, speech that you mailed to me - into the following text (below).

I have also attached both a text-only file and a M/S Word 2000 file of the same text.

Please review this text, and notify me via reply email of any changes or additions.

I will wait a few days for your responses,
and then I will upload this wonderful speech into the Los Altos Lodge Papers website at:
http://www.calodges.org/no712/la-papers.html

Now that you have carefully and clearly identified the needs for Americans to retain their Constitutional Rights,
by understanding their RESPONSIBILITY to do so -

I would like to soon see Masonic papers and speeches presented that discuss:

The creation of the USA Corporation in the 1800s ("The President" is the president of that, not of America)
The bankruptcy of that corporation in March 1933
The take-over of that corporation by the privately-owned "Federal" Reserve Bank in March 1933
The enforcement of the illegal "Federal" Income Tax
     (to pay the debt the USA Corp. owes the FED for the use their money - which will NEVER be paid off)
     (illegal because Income Tax was never ratified by the required number of States)
The Truth about Pearl Harbor (now in programs aired on the History Channel)
     (it was planned and known about by the President and some staff days before 12/7/41)
The Truth about the Oklahoma City Bombing
     (bombs inside of a Federal Evidence Repository, Waco evidence awaiting trial, plus drug caches)
The Truth about 9-11
     (planned since 1990, executed under the auspices of the New American Century group (Cheney),
     to knock-down the Twin Towers and Bldg. 7, as they could not be sold, due to costly retro-fit problems;
     and to blame that on CIA controlled Arab "terrorists" that were aboard the Boeing 767s that had all been
     previously outfitted with remote control override systems in Germany, over US Pilot Union complaints;
     and provided the "New Pearl Harbor" that Bravensky (sp) had stated the US needed in his books.
     Sigh - see: www.padrak.com/bookson911/)
The Truth about the CIA and international drug dealing
     (that they by their legal 1947 charter can pursue funding means by any means, legal and illegal)
The Truth about the Patriot Act (which was not read by any Congressman or Senator that voted for it!)
The Truth about the Patriot Act II
The Truth about the Bush Administration now quietly trying to sign Executive Orders to stop the "Sunset" clauses
     in both those Acts - so that the "temporary" restrictions in them would become permanent.

Otherwise my friends -

We may be put into box cars ... and shipped elsewhere ... very soon...

Thank you again for your efforts and this paper!

Dr. Patrick G. Bailey, PhD, MIT, '72, Nuclear Engineering
PM, Los Altos Lodge No. 712, & Webmaster

CC: John L. Cooper III (Grand Lodge Secretary), Fabien Cappa (Thanks for the email addresses!), and Fred Beckner (Fellow Book Author and Concerned Mason)

Permission is granted to forward this email to anyone - without the FROM or CC headers contained in this email.
PB.

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