“WHO ARE THE SEDITIONISTS IN AMERICA TODAY?” an essay by Cheryl Pass

Today’s Guest Saturday post comes to us from Cheryl Pass of My Tea Party Chronicle. By the way, Cheryl has been under the weather so please keep her in your prayers. In this essay, originally published on July 29, 2013, Cheryl asks a serious question about who are the real enemies of our constitutional republic.

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WHO ARE THE SEDITIONISTS IN AMERICA TODAY?

From Wikipedia comes this definition of sedition:

“In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent (or resistance) to lawful authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interests of sedition.”

Here is the dilemma:  When government officials, appointees, representatives, and all in supposed positions of power are actively involved in sedition against our Constitution, what do you call it and who will enforce the sedition laws?

Here’s another definition from The Free Dictionary, Legal Dictionary

Sedition is the crime of revolting or inciting revolt against government. However, because of the broad protection of free speech under the First Amendment, prosecutions for sedition are rare. Nevertheless, sedition remains a crime in the United States under 18 U.S.C.A. § 2384 (2000), a federal statute that punishes seditious conspiracy, and 18 U.S.C.A. § 2385 (2000), which outlaws advocating the overthrow of the federal government by force. Generally, a person may be punished for sedition only when he or she makes statements that create a Clear and Present Danger to rights that the government may lawfully protect (schenck v. united states, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S. Ct. 247, 63 L. Ed. 470 [1919]).

Before you go all crazy on me and cite the abuses of the Alien and Sedition Act from John Adams, please know I am not talking about eliminating free speech.  I am talking about government officials, elected and otherwise, who are “transforming America” by seditious acts against the Constitution thereby creating a “clear and present danger” to our rights.  The most egregious assault on us is coming from elected officials who have sworn to protect our rights under the Constitution.  These people are supposedly representing us.  But they aren’t.

Authority in America is granted only for the purpose of upholding our Constitution.  However, that authority has been abused.  Unelected agents within our government are creating regulations and so-called laws that are unconstitutional, both by virtue of the agents’ lack of authority to do so, and by virtue of the particular laws and regulations not allowed by the Constitution itself.

So let’s look at the NSA surveillance situation.  Here is an agency, unelected by the people, directed by the Executive Branch of the government, who is now engaging in an outright attack on the 4th Amendment to the Constitution.  The rights of people to be secure in their homes and possessions is ignored.  Has Congress stepped in to protect the 4th Amendment?  Nah…not so much.  In fact, many in Congress have stepped in to support this abuse of the 4th Amendment.  Instead of the rights of the people, we are now looking at the rights of unelected agencies, as the Supreme Court affirmed by allowing the EPA to define CO2 as a pollutant, and further leaving Congress out of the decision making process altogether.   Again, did Congress step in to defend against this abomination of the rules?  Nah….not so much.

How about the Justice Department?  Under the direction of the Executive Branch, Justice was told to ignore the DOMA law and immigration laws.  Those laws that were passed by Congress and signed by previous Presidents were / are ignored by the current administration.  It is government itself in these circumstances that is committing seditious acts, but so far we are seeing no one in authority going after the culprits.  With this current Executive Branch and this Justice Department, the laws of the nation are to be tossed aside and ignored.  This is subversive / seditious activity by the government itself.

Congress is becoming both seditious and irrelevant at the same time.  Irrelevant by refusing to support the Constitution and prosecuting those who actively undermine it, seditious by passing laws that are unconstitutional, such as the misnamed Affordable Care Act.  (There are a few in Congress who are doing their best to combat all of this, but too few to be able to yank the entire mess in DC back to its original concept of limited government.)

Calling it like I see it, it is apparent the checks and balances are not working and our Constitution is being thrown into the dust bin of history.  As long as this goes on, I can’t help but wonder where is the tipping point.  Egypt lasted only one year of abuse before their people stood up.  Our nation is full of groups of patriots ranting every day on social media about the latest subversion of our rights.  What is it going to take? Just wondering.