FOUNDATION
Foundation
The original, often-profiled Patriots that held those attributes necessary to launch this great nation were
a unique breed. Uncommon in that they were largely unadorned, untitled everymen that performed
extraordinary feats in the name of their country when called by circumstance and destiny. Many more,
equally committed, but unknown to history. They were merchants, lawyers, farmers, educators and
doctors – the middle and upper-middle class of their time. Some were slaveholders. Some were
abolitionists. Mostly Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, senior, white, males - all willing to commit to a cause that
could spell their ruin, if unsuccessful. Perfectly imperfect men in an imperfect world.
Theirs was not a quest for the perfect union, rather, a more perfect union. America is a work in progress.
The largely unsung partners, wives, servants and natives that were instrumental in the first War for
Independence, provided the forms and cement that enabled the Founders to build the foundation. The
stories of the Patriot Women reveal courage and commitment, strength and generosity, often far greater
than that for which they are given credit. It is a testament to the veracity of the Founding Documents
that the people in the shadows that were, for a time, considered less-than-equal, have evolved to stand
shoulder to shoulder with the descendants of the men that occupy the statuary halls and history books.
Women, once again, will be at the forefront of the efforts to maintain a healthy Liberty Tree, only now
as equals to their male counterparts.
In their time, the culture, traditions and other constraints of their world prevented the complete
correction of the many inequities and unjust realities of the human condition. The primary goal of the
Founders was to free the population from oppressive bondage so that the potential and spirit of the new
Americans could be fully realized. Much work remains. Oppressions by tyrants, in their many
manifestations, are a constant and present danger to Freedom and Justice.
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The Founders fought to abolish Seven Enemies of Freedom that threaten the spirit of America:
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No monarch or dictating body should concentrate or wield power over the population unchecked. Dictators are a predictable animal. Their power corrupts in lockstep with its increase.​​
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No castes or birth-right privilege to provide special treatment to some over others.
Only when we value rights over privileges can equality before the law be attainable for all.
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No ‘leveling’ of wealth to provide the unjust enrichment of unaccomplished individuals with the
assets of those that, through fortune or effort, have improved theirs and their family’s lot in life. American Democratic Capitalism promises equality of opportunity, not equality of result. -
No onerous regulations to unnecessarily stifle the fair market or the responsible pursuit of happiness. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. Thom. Jefferson
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No restriction on the free flow of Information.
"Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light" – Geo. Washington
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No Federal rights above the Citizenry.
"The way to have good and safe government, is not to trust it all to one; but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is competent to. Let the National government be entrusted with the defence of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations; the State governments with the civil rights, laws, police and administration of what concerns the states generally; the Counties with the local concerns of the counties, and each Ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from the great National one down thro’ all its subordinates, until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm and affairs by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best." – Thom. Jefferson
These same dangers and encroachments are manifest today, sometimes in different guise. Patriotic
vigilance is required to repel the enemies-at-the-gate who are never vanquished so much as they are
beaten back for a time. Often, the enemies within the gates present a greater danger than those from
without, for they plead righteousness under false cover of authority or position. Tyrants will soon reveal
themselves, no matter their pretense, when the bright light of truth shines on them as it inevitably does.
They must be exposed and dispatched with all due haste.
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The First struggle for Independence anticipated those to follow.
Over the 200 years following America’s divorce from England, the country’s population grew over one
hundred-fold. Its economic engine became the driver of the world’s advance out of poverty and despair.
This was the fulfillment of the patriotic dream, though it came with a premium, and a price, in the
expansion of all things, good and bad.
Through their telescope to the future, the original Founders could see dangers and challenges beyond
the horizon; the potential for venal politicians and their corrupt courtiers; the need for the end of
bondage and the emancipation of all peoples; equal rights for women; and many other issues that
required correction or prevention. The path was set by the Founders for these progressions to resolve, if
not immediately, then eventually as the country matured.
As prescient as their vision was, it could not have foreseen many of the realities of modern society – flush
toilets and clean running water for virtually all Americans; eradication of the most deadly diseases
known to mankind; travel to places unreachable by the modes of their time; but conversely, proliferation
of technology companies with the reach and influence of the colonial British Empire; extant multi-
national corporations that emulate the worst attributes of the, then reviled, East India Company;
wholesale, elective abortion of healthy unborn children; weapons capable of ending whole civilizations,
pervasive surveillance of the abiding population. Who could know?
Many institutions and practices that took root in early America, with good intent and common values,
have grown to their illogical extremes and become the antithesis of their conception and founding
principles. Such is the unfortunate state of many of these institutions today: A national news media that
grew from a noble press and now delivers biased untruth at the speed of thought; educational systems
that now harbor and propel ideals corrosive to the democratic fabric; entrenched and bloated
governmental bureaucracies populated by un-elected and un-sworn activists with little interest or
motivation to tend to the needs of the citizens whose lives they control; ubiquitous technology that both
surveils and tranquilizes the citizenry; corporations acting as agents of the government without
safeguards. The List of Dangers is extensive.
The Founders and their vehicle-of-change, the Founding Documents, provided inoculation against the
worst transgressions that were contemplated at the time or could reasonably be foreseen. Much of the
universal truth broadcast by the Declaration of Independence, and the structural scaffolding in the
Constitution served to treat many of the contemporary ills of their day and provided a guide and
mechanism for those patriots that followed, to adapt these principles to ever-changing circumstance.
There is little to modify from the original charter documents, best only to apply their wisdom and
directives justly as they were intended. Enabling this process requires a fair and informed populace with
the willingness to direct their elected leaders to abide by the oath they are sworn to uphold.
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Among the many wisdoms provided by the Framers and promulgated by the Founding Documents,
the Constitutional Oath of Office, creates a solemn responsibility, voluntarily undertaken by
all emergent government officials, to support the Constitution.
This noble burden is not required of the jesters, pundits, entertainers and various purveyors of overstuffed opinions passing as truth, whose cackling serves only to convince the choir of the
like-minded. They may be grudgingly excused their self-importance at the expense of their audience.
The oath takers cannot. Violations of the sacred trust sworn by governmental officers at all levels,
in all branches, should be punished commensurate with the injury that it does to the rights,
any right, held inviolate and granted to all people. When that violation is committed on
the entire citizenry, the punishment is justly required to be more severe.
The awesome power and attainment of governmental officers must be balanced
with brutal retribution for those who might forget for whom, and why, they work.
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Government serves only to delineate and enable the ideals of the Founding Documents – establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty for all Americans. All laws and regulations must be tested against these standards, and the directives established by the Constitution, and be soundly rejected where they stray from the bounds granted by the People.
Justice is established by legislation of the Congress, faithfully executed by the Executive and adjudicated by the Judiciary. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without Due Process of law. Simple and clear.
American citizens must be vigilant to erosions of these principles, especially at the hands of those
entrusted with their faithful execution, be they governmental officers or their agents. A patriot must
always be ready to defend his country against his government.
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Rights & Freedoms Reinforced by the Founding Documents
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The rights & freedoms that attach to Americans can best be understood by the source and power of each.
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There is a natural hierarchy to the Rights and Freedoms enshrined in the Founding Documents and those added by later Amendments to the Constitution beyond the Bill of Rights. Natural Rights are paramount and inviolate; Individual Freedoms enable and enrich the Natural Rights; Justice Under the Law ensures the balance of Rights and Freedoms equally across the population. Compact Rights are tantamount to negotiated benefits between the body of citizens within a local or State jurisdiction and their representative government at that level. The Individual enjoys rights and freedoms. The government has no rights or powers save those granted by the citizenry and only in fair and equal service of the people it represents.
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All rights and freedoms have a corresponding responsibility that balances the benefit. The primary element that burdens rights and freedoms in a free society is the strict requirement for all holders to respect and defend the equal rights of all others. My right is no greater than your equal right.
Your freedom does not lessen or extinguish my freedom.
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Natural Rights are those that are bestowed on all humans by Nature’s God in the course and context of
human events and are unalienable. They flow from ancient truths that are self-evident – beyond argument by reasonable and just minds. Americans share these rights with all people. Natural Rights occupy the top of the hierarchy relative to all other rights and freedoms, existing in the absence, and despite, government. Violation of a people’s Natural Rights by any government is grounds for the replacement of that body.
Natural Rights reside with the Individual, with or without the involvement or presence of another.
Nature reserves the option to revoke certain of these rights unto herself and demonstrate man’s
subordination, often in brutal ways. In the natural domain, the Laws of Nature supersede those of Man.
Consider that Natural Rights adopt us more than we adopt them.
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Compact Rights are those that are vested by the compact between the American people and their
representative government. These entitlements recognize that government exists only to protect the
rights of the people and provide common benefit to all. The government has no rights or privileges
except those in defense of direct violation of one’s rights by another. Government power and position, in
and of itself, has no superiority to the common interest of the people it represents. Rule of Law must
always serve to fairly balance these equal rights of each person to another. Compact rights recognize and
enforce the responsibility of all citizens to avoid injury to those rights of others in the mirrored
enjoyment and pursuit of their own.
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Freedoms allow for acts and practices of the people but may be subordinate to a higher right of another. Freedoms exist outside the compact between citizens and their government and require no permission or
exaction from a higher authority save those with superior or antecedent rights.
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Natural Rights
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Life
The Right to Life is the maximal of all the Natural Rights. Without Life there are no other rights.
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Liberty
To act as one sees fit, but for the Laws of Nature, free from undue restraint of body or mind by others.
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Equality
All people are created equal with the same rights as all others, with different attributes and circumstances.
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Property
Private ownership of property in all its forms, fairly acquired, free to hold, improve, market and bequeath.
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Defense
Keep and bear arms in self-defense, and commensurate defense of others, against unwarranted offense.
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Spirituality
Belief in the metaphysical and the ability to adhere to values that belief represents, each unto his own.
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Pursuit of Happiness
The pursuit of Happiness, by each in their own way, is the essence of the Human Spirit.
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Compact Rights
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Safety
A primary reason to form the government, any government, is to provide for the safety of its citizens and their property. Fair laws, justice and domestic tranquility are key elements to protect from criminals, negligence and domestic dangers. When government fails to meet its obligation in this most sacred compact, the result is civil unrest, civil disobedience and violent counteraction. Dereliction of this duty by the sworn protectors, is just cause for severe punishment of the offenders and is tantamount to treason.
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Alter or Abolish Destructive Government
The government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. When the government becomes destructive of the rights of the people, it is the right, indeed the duty, of the people to alter or abolish it – a Foundational principle of our Declaration of Independence. Government should not be changed for light and transient reasons but after a long train of abuses and usurpations. Such was the driving motivation of the Founding.
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No Abridgement of Press
Laws should not restrict the actions of a free and fair press, and the ability to truthfully inform the population of issues pertinent to their lives, their rights and their pursuit of Happiness.
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Redress of Grievances
All citizens have the right to petition the government for a redress of their grievances. Fairness dictates that complaints against government action or enablement, should be presented for consideration of correction.
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No Establishment of Religion
The government shall not dictate a state religion or compel its citizens to worship in a prescribed manner.
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No Abridgement of Speech
Individual speech and expression are not to be constrained or censored by the government or its agents.
Reasonable restrictions against libel, slander and incitement to be regulated by the States.
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No Abridgement of Peaceful Assembly
Citizens may gather to peacefully protest and communicate ideas and opinions without undue interference by the government on common property, fairly controlled. Assembly on private property with the permission of the owner shall not be restricted subject to the respect for the equal rights of others.
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Security
People shall be secure in their persons, houses, businesses, papers and effects from unreasonable search
and seizure by the government without due process of law. Probable cause and competent judicial
warrant, supported by oath or affirmation and specific to the place to be searched, and persons or
property to be seized, is required.
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National Defense
Common defense from foreign enemies and invasion by alien persons is an extension of the Safety Right
to include threats that originate outside our border. Protection from imminent threats as well as clear
and present dangers posed by non-citizens, wherever they exist.
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Retained Rights by the People
The people retain all rights they are entitled to beyond those enumerated by the Constitution. The government cannot usurp or claim the rights of the citizens though those rights are not specifically mentioned in the Founding documents. The rights of the people are superior to the rights of the state.
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State's Rights / People's Rights
Powers not specifically assigned to the Federal government accrue to the States and to the people.
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Voting
All American citizens, 18 years or older, are entitled to vote, without undue constraint, in free and fair elections of their representatives irrespective of race, color, sex or other trait that is derived from their Natural Rights.
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Information Access
Information in the public domain or generated by the government, except when restricted for purposes
of national security, shall be freely available to all citizens.
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Justice Under Law
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Equal Protection of the Law
The distribution of Justice must be impartial and without discrimination or favor.
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Grand Jury for Capital Crimes
Before a serious crime is formally charged, a grand jury must determine if a crime did likely occur.
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No Double Jeopardy
A person cannot be tried twice for the same criminal offense.
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No Witness Against Self
A defendant cannot be compelled as a witness against themselves or be forced to confess to a crime.
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Due Process of Law
The government cannot take life, liberty or property without a hearing and the fair process of adjudication.
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No Private Property Takings
The government cannot take personal property without just compensation, and only for the public benefit.
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Speedy and Public Trial
Trials are to be timely, allowing enough time for preparation by both sides, and be open to the public.
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Impartial Local Jury of Peers
The accused shall enjoy trial by an impartial jury of the State and district where the crime was committed.
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Informed Accusation
The accused shall be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation.
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Confront Witnesses Against
The accused shall be confronted with the witnesses against him and be able to cross-examine.
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Process for Favorable Witness
The accused shall have a compulsory process to obtain witnesses in his favor.
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Assistance of Counsel for Defense
The accused shall have the assistance of counsel for his defence.
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Jury Trial for Civil Suits
Common lawsuits shall be tried by a jury and facts thereof are not subject to reexamination on appeal.
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No Excessive Bail
Excessive bail shall not be imposed on the accused.
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No Excessive Fines
Excessive fines shall not be imposed on the guilty.
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No Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Torture and other cruel or unusual punishment shall not be imposed on the guilty.
State Compacts
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Provision of personal services and the needs of daily life should be the purview of the fair market and the rightful compensation of individual effort in commerce. The level of quantity and quality of these fulfilled needs is rightly determined by one’s ability to legally acquire them based on personal finances and circumstance. Those unable to provide basic needs for themselves should be supported first, by their family, and second, by the community at the state and local level. The federal government should have no role in the provision of these needs, save the management of national resources and standards in support of the State’s efforts. Voluntary, community-based groups should be the default provider of human needs after the family circle. The State’s Constitutional rights require that laws and regulations that enable the charitable delivery of the human needs be originated and administrated at the community level by the local representative governments, accountable to the citizens of the respective States. Minimum levels of care and provision should be fulfilled by the State as the provider-of-last-resort. Enhanced, state-provided services and materials above a minimum level will result in less availability of those to others in need, increased taxes on the citizenry, decreased motivation to seek non-governmental providers, or a combination of these. State support must be conditional on the recipient contributing what they can and must come with a comprehensive plan to move to self-sufficiency as soon as possible.
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Water / Sanitation
Water is life. Take it for granted at your peril. Clean, copious running-water is one of the many gifts that Capitalism and American ingenuity has delivered to our country. The original population had to expend great effort to keep themselves supplied with clean drinking water, not to mention sufficient water to provide proper sanitation, cooking and cleaning. Beer and wine were safer alternatives to the water.
Publicly owned utilities, supplemented by corporate-providers at the State and local level, with Federal standards and minimal regulation, should provide this life-sustaining resource to all, with subsidies for those in need.
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Sustenance
The food supply-chain in the United States is the most bountiful on the planet, the result of our abundant natural resources and rich agrarian heritage. Drinking water and nutritious food should be provided to those who lack the means to provide it to themselves and their dependents, at a level that sustains a healthy life. Local food banks and other community efforts that make a range of foods available at no cost to those in need, should be enabled and encouraged by the respective governments to reach a level of sustenance for all.
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Clothing
Some of the earliest pioneers to our shores were clothiers, bringing this noble trade to the new land from England. These craftsmen were the original capitalists in this new economy.
Together with sustenance and shelter, clothing forms the baseline of the human needs’ hierarchy. This combined trio of essentials provide the gateway that enables life and should be available to all citizens of a great country, irrespective of their ability to afford them. The fair markets of Capitalism have provided these basic human needs to Americans since the first ships arrived four centuries ago and continue to offer previously unimaginable quality and variety to the population at large. As with sustenance and housing, the markets are best suited to provide clothing needs to the people in commerce, and government’s role should be limited to minimal regulation and support of those efforts. When local and State governments are called upon to supplement or provide the basic elements to those in need, they should do so as a last resort and at the level of need, not want.
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Housing / Shelter
In a nation of superior builders, safe, secure and healthy shelter should be available to all citizens and qualified residents. The properly regulated housing market, respecting property rights, absent undue regulatory and tax burden, is the best provider of quality shelter at all levels. When provided by the State to those in need, sound structures that include food preparation, consumption and storage; air and water temperature and quality control; private sleeping and sanitation areas; study and relaxation areas; clothes storage and cleaning; natural and powered lighting; and storage of necessary personal effects, should be the standard. State-provided digital and video appliances should be limited to information, education and communication.
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Health Care
Life-enabling and sustaining health services should determine the minimum level of care.
When provided by the State, health care must serve to allow and continue natural life with dignity, free of pain and anxiety. Elective, extraordinary and cosmetic care must reside with the commercial and voluntary sectors and not with government providers. Emergent and critical health services should serve to stabilize patients and move to return them to other care-providers without undue delay.
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Education
The Founders promoted scholarship and education with the full understanding that a knowledgeable and truthfully informed population was necessary to a democratic republic and an antidote to the disease of tyranny. In the realm of American Democratic Capitalism, education and training serve two critical functions - elevating the knowledge required to enable a reasoned and just electorate and providing the renewable and actualized human energy for successful enterprise. Government, at the community level, should both provide and facilitate the education of the citizenry at the primary and secondary grades.
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Employment
Capitalism is, at its core, the engine that provides gainful employment to the population at all levels. Merit-based opportunities are the gift that comes from fair market commerce that is not handicapped by over-regulation and bureaucratic interference. Government should only act as referee and facilitator to the private sector and only in barely sufficient measure. The deep state that has perpetual government employees as its core, left to grow unchecked, will threaten the essence of the American spirit and is its own brand of tyranny.
Freedoms
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Speech
One is free to express sincere opinions and beliefs without attack, subject to reasoned counterargument, providing no interference with another’s right to listen.
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Information
True and freely available knowledge, subject to fair right-of-authorship and intellectual property rights.
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Communication
Common channels open to all, subject to carrier’s commercial and property rights.
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Peaceful Assembly
Ability to gather peacefully, without destruction or violence, subject to private property rights.
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Practice of Religion
All are free to hold spiritual beliefs and religious practice subject to respect for the practice of others.
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Privacy
One’s personal autonomy, information and practices are protected from public scrutiny, subject to limited and compelling interest by the government.
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Fair Commerce
Parties can engage in fair exchange, subject to the balanced and reasonable regulation of government.
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Movement
People are free to travel and move, subject to private property rights and the sovereignty of nations.
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A primary tenent of American Democratic Capitalism is one’s freedom to live and act as they wish within the fair limits of the equal rights of all others. By extension, the legitimate powers of government only stand to enforce against those acts that are injurious to another. The law, therefore, is only valid when it does not violate the natural rights and freedoms of the individual, unless in defense of harm to another qualified party. Bureaucrats and sworn officers of the government have no immunity for unwarranted violation of the rights and freedoms of the citizens they represent.
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Criminal penalties imposed for violations of the natural rights and freedoms must be commensurate with the infringement.
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Accused are afforded the benefit of constitutional rights and but are also held to the responsibilities that attend those rights. Justice is a balanced equation. Respect for the guilty is contempt for the innocent.
Civil exactions should be imposed for violations of the local community compact and fair commerce.
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