YAL at OSU

    Technological advancements have made many things in today’s society obsolete.  For instance, the typewriter is no longer needed, as with the many models of computers.  Cellular phones continue to decrease in size, as some contain basic cable and even wireless Internet service. However, with every new month ringing in the “next big thing,” there is indeed one commodity that will never become outdated: the Constitution of the United States.

    Some may argue, as many have, that the Constitution may hold no bearing in this ever-changing civilization. Individuals such as Bill Kristol (Fox News correspondent and Editor of Weekly Standard) has been quoted as saying, “… There is no way that a 200 year old document can have much relevance today…”

    When someone says something like this, I can only reply in a defensive manner. Society may advance, but the basics do not change, and neither does the relationship between the government and the governed. The Constitution of the United States deals solely with the essentials, and is designed to protect the people from their government by defining the boundaries of the government. This, in turn, champions the freedom and liberty of the individual. The Constitution, the Republican Ideal, the Great Experiment as it was called, was and is designed to keep you (the reader) and I free.

    “Simply put, freedom is the absence of government coercion,” said Congressman Ron Paul while on the floor of Congress.  “Our Founding Fathers understood this, and created the lease coercive government in the history of the world.” (A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship)

    It is apparent that the framers of the Constitution established a very limited, decentralized government to provide for the national defense.  States, not the federal government, held the responsibility of protecting its citizens from crime and fraud.  For the first time in history, a government was established with the main intent of protecting the individual and their liberties, which included property and various other personal interests.

    Today, however, the American people are faced with politicians in both parties who have an apparent obsession with spouting the words “freedom,” “democracy,” and “justice.”  From both sides of the political spectrum, politicians, with their own self interests, attempt to pass legislation that requires some sort of restriction or exploitation of the people, which is, in fact, un-Constitutional.

    “The political left equates freedom with liberation from material wants, always via a large and benevolent government that exists to create equality on Earth,” said Paul in an article posted on his previous presidential campaign website, ronpaul2008.com.  “The political right equates freedom with national greatness brought about through military strength.  Like the left, modern conservatives favor an all powerful central state- but for militarism, corporatism, and faith-based welfarism… We must reject the current meaningless designations of ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ in favor of an accurate term for both-statists.”

    Although Ronald Reagan often times gets criticized by libertarians and right leaning libertarians alike, he is, by far, the closest we have ever come to a truly libertarian-esque leader, some of his accomplishments worth credit and respect.  Before he became Commander in Chief, however, it is known that he was once a champion of personal liberties and limited government, often spouting libertarian ideologies.  And, although he inarguably expanded the size and scope of the federal government in his eight years of reign, unlike he had promised, perhaps he was once again stricken with this previously held tantalizing realization, as, in his Farewell Address, he said the following: “…man is not free unless government is limited.  There is a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as the law of Physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”

    In a day when terrorism supposedly threatens our everyday lives, it should be remembered that freedom is never silly.  With the implementation of the Patriot Act, legislators and politicians dictate to the citizenry that certain rights are, well, silly.  Yet, if the politicians break the laws that are made to control their actions, why should any American abide by the laws they create?

    It seems as though every politician today claims they support freedom; unfortunately, it appears as though very few of them know what the word actually means.  More so, politicians today have an infatuation with paying only lip service to the Constitution, while silently challenging the relevance of such an important document.  In effect, they are only expanding their own private agenda, often times at the whims of the American people.

Austin Nichols