The Constitution: A Path to Liberty or Tyranny?
By Ela Mukosiej⎪March 17, 2025
Americans do not know the Constitution.
According to the latest survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania regarding facts about the U.S. Constitution, only 7% of Americans can name all five First Amendment rights; 23% can name three or four, and 48% can name one or two; only 30% of Americans can name a majority of [Constitutionally protected] rights, while about 1 in 5 people cannot name any.
Moreover, public officials, who take the oath to protect the Constitution, completely misunderstand its meaning and purpose, and usurp upon it on regular basis. Just recently, I came across an old quote from a former attorney general, Alberto Gonzales (2005-07) and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. He said to justify the ‘War on Terror’:
“[T]here is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution. There is a prohibition against taking it away… [T]he Constitution doesn’t say, “Every individual in the United States or every citizen is hereby granted or assured the right to habeas.” It doesn’t say that. It simply says that the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended…”
Hence, an important question arises… If Americans don’t understand the blueprint created for protecting their freedoms, how can they recognize when it’s being violated and when tyranny begins?
The answer is obvious. They can’t and they don’t.
The system we experience today has convinced us that we have certain privileges granted to us by the government or the Constitution. We never hear politicians (Ron Paul was an exception) standing up for the inherent Rights of people endowed to them by Nature/God.
In reality it is us, the people, who granted the government privileges — because people created the government, not the other way around; and therefore, the people are superior to their creation. This higher level of consciousness was exactly what the Founders of the Constitution tried to preserve for generations to come.
Overview of the Constitution
The legal meaning of the Constitution is the same today as it was in 1787. To learn it, we have to go back in time and understand what the composers of the contract said about it when it was drafted. (The debates between so called Federalists and Anti-Federalists are a great place to start.) Of course, the meaning of certain words might have changed over time, but not the terms itself.
The U.S. Constitution is a Political Trust formed between the trustors (Founders who wanted to secure freedoms for their posterity) and the trustees (government officials who take the Oath of Office and have the fiduciary responsibility to uphold the contract). Americans are clearly beneficiaries in this set up. *** Whether the contract applies (legally and morally) to all citizens today is a completely separate topic that I will address at some point in the future. ***
Here are the absolute fundamentals of the Constitution that, unfortunately, a vast majority of Americans don’t understand:
The federal government has boundaries and only defined responsibilities, which add up to about 30 specified throughout the Constitution and NOTHING MORE;
The States of the Union (sovereign and independent) retain powers not delegated nor forbidden by the Constitution (See the 10th Amendment). For example, transportation or education would be something that the republican form of government in several states could organize or leave it to private individuals;
The people possess their inalienable, natural rights — including those NOT mentioned in the document like the right to travel, to own property, or to habeas corpus (9th Amendment);
The Bill of Rights is technically the “KEEP OUT” section for the government authorities as it lists most vital rights that can never be, not only repealed, but infringed upon, such as the right to keep and bear arms — specifically for protection from tyrannical rulers (which, don’t forget, is how the War of Independence began).
It doesn’t take an expert to recognize that the modern government has overstepped its boundaries and created the largest administration in human history. The Congress, for example, was designed to “meet at least once a year,” suggesting that there wasn’t much to do. Whatever their tasks were, they were accomplished within the last 200 years, yet the both houses seem to be always at work…
The federal government has its paws in nearly every area of our life — from education, to finances, to food and health, and more.
Why did this happen? Three reasons.
First, those in power justify their unconstitutional acts by relying upon these clauses in particular: the “necessary and proper clause,” “general welfare clause,” and, probably the most abused one, “interstate commerce clause.” Yes, the creators of the Constitution definitely left some room for interpretation errors, which many anti-federalists warned us about.
Secondly, but that’s just my opinion, the greatest failure of this amazing document (as well as of other Organic Laws) is that the Founders never defined what an actual Right is (an act that do not initiate harm to others). Because of that, our society as a whole drowns in confusion and cognitive dissonance about the paramount understanding of human freedom. People erroneously, but vehemently believe that their rights are privileges granted to them by the government — a subordinate agent of the people having no rights to even exist…
Thirdly, the generations of Americans haven’t kept government’s feet to the fire as the forefathers expected them to do. The Founders knew the difference between freedom and tyranny and that is why they compelled the future generations to hold guard and never sink into ignorance. In Thomas Jefferson’s words:
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”
Maintenance of the Constitution
The Founders, knowing that the Constitution wasn’t perfect (hence amendment clause), saw a great danger in delegating powers to a federal government. However, they had faith that these few steps be taken by common Americans in order to enforce the Political Trust and maintain individual and state liberties:
Knowing that the government is not our ruler but an instrumentality or agent.
People are sovereign and they created such an agent for one purpose: to protect the rights of people within the boundaries described in the Constitution;Understanding of the Contract: what it is, what it does and doesn’t allow, so that everyone can recognize when it’s being violated. The Constitutional terms and natural rights were supposed to be common knowledge.
Resistance of people is the only solution to invasion against the Constitution.
“The only resource against usurpation is the inherent right of the people to prevent its exercise.” - James Iredell (federalist and one of the first justices of the Supreme Court of the United States)
Federalists and Anti-federalists alike understood that any usurpation by the government makes its acts or laws void and that the people have the right to nullify them by not adhering to such acts. Moreover, they knew that prolonged invasions against the Constitution not only could, but should inspire people to rebel and get rid of such a government, as it’s also within their rights.
Conclusion
Obviously, no written document has a magical power to enforce itself. No matter how profound the words appear on paper, they alone do not bring and sustain Freedom. And no matter how many flaws there are in the Constitution, they can’t be an excuse for acquiescing to slavery in the name of (usually) safety.
The Constitution is a masterpiece, no doubt, but it’s neutral in its nature. Even though it was drafted for the purpose of creating a positive environment for the growth of society, it can be and is being used for nefarious reasons.
Remember, what Americans won in the Revolutionary War was the legal acknowledgment and exercise of the Supreme Sovereignty of Individuals. No constitution can change that, however, tyrants and ignorance can.
It doesn’t take a genus to learn the principles and terms of the document under which the current system supposedly operates. Freedom comes with responsibilities, among which are Knowledge, Understanding and Implementation/Protection of our inherent rights as well as limited powers and obligations of public officials. Because the way to tyranny or liberty depends solely on us as sovereign individuals.
“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.” — Benjamin Franklin
“The Strength and powers of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resisting it.” — Thomas Paine