posted on Sep, 8 2009 @ 01:37 PM
I want to live in a country where I could pray in school if I wanted to, but the school didn't make me pray if I didn't want to. If I want to
declare that my country is "one nation, under God," I want to be allowed to. If I want to pledge my allegiance to "one nation, under Allah," I
want that right. If I want to say "one nation, created by lifeforms that evolved due to random mutations in nature," then I want to be allowed to. I
want freedom of religion.
I want to live in a country where I can speak my mind about important issues, without being put on a list of people to watch, or a list of people who
can't fly on airplanes. I don't want the government to label me a "domestic terrorist" because I disagree with them. I want to be able to state my
opinions without fearing retaliation at the hands of the government. I want freedom of speech.
I want to live in a country where news and information are exchanged freely and accurately, and the media comes from many unbiased sources instead of
having it spoon fed to me by three or four multibillion dollar corporations. I want freedom of press.
I want to live in a country where the ability to form a group of people to discuss or protest something is a right I can exercise, not a privilege I
can apply for a permit for. Whether I'm standing with a group in a park holding up signs about a political issue, or just having a party with my
friends in my own home, I don't want to worry about the police sending me to jail or fining me for it. I want freedom of assembly.
I want to live in a country where I can elect people to represent me, and if I petition them to do something they have to at least read it. I don't
want to write letters to my leaders, and receive an automated response based on the keywords in my letter. I want the right to petition.
I want to live in a country where I'm allowed to own the tools I need to protect myself from whatever I feel is threatening me, regardless of how
outmatched I am by that threat. And I want to be able to choose those tools for myself, and I want the ability to decide for myself what accessories
and features I need on that weapon. I want the right to bear arms.
I want to live in a country where the police can't rip my car up because they claim they smelled something in it. I don't want any government agency
to be able to listen in on my phone calls, whether I'm calling my neighbor across town or some church in Pakistan. If I leave my own country for a
vacation, I want the private information on my laptop computer to stay private. And if there's ever a darn good reason to violate this privacy, I
want that reason signed and approved by a judge and shown to me by the people doing the search first. I want protection from unreasonable searches and
seizures.
If I get accused of a crime, I want a fair and balanced method of determining my guilt no matter how severe the crime is. I don't want the cops
running around on the 6 o'clock news saying I did it unless a judge and jury have already said I did it. I don't want to sit in a pen in a secret
prison without any rights if somebody accuses me of terrorism. If I get sued, I don't want to lose the lawsuit because the other guy got a $300,000
per year lawyer and I had to dig mine out of a box of Cracker Jacks. I want the right to fair trials.
I want to live in a country where I don't have to face stiff fines and penalties for minor crimes. I don't want to worry about having my license
revoked for forgetting to renew it on time. I don't want to be put in the same class of criminals as rapists and robbers and murderers for owning the
wrong plant. I don't want to live where the police can electrocute me on the spot for not doing what they say. I want protection from cruel and
unusual punishment.
I want to live in a country where basic and obvious rights can't be denied to me simply because they weren't specifically stated in the
Constitution. For example, I don't want to face fines or penalties for collecting rainwater or tapping a spring; I want it to be just assumed that I
have the right to provide myself with water to drink. I want to live in a country where my freedom is a right, not an enumerated list.
I want to live in a country where the state I live in can have laws and powers that we, its actual residents, feel are in our best interest. I don't
want members of some federal government that has never set foot here to be able to declare power over my state unless the Constitution specifically
grants it that power. I want a country with a limited Federal government.
I want to live in a country whose government doesn't think that it can force me to serve in any sort of Citizen's Corps. I want the right to be
compensated for my work with money that's worth more than the paper its printed on. I don't want to be handed money for my work that might have no
value tomorrow. I want to live in a country where I am not a slave, and slavery is abolished.
I want to live in a country where all levels of the government have to recognize my rights, not merely the Federal government. If the Federal
government gives me a right, I want the states to be required to uphold it!
According to the U.S. Constitution, I *SHOULD* already be living in just such a country. Why is it... that I am not?