What is a Constitutional Sheriff?
By Sheriff Mike Raines (Retired)
What is a Constitutional Sheriff? I have been asked this many times over the years and here are my thoughts on this question.
A Constitutional Sheriff is a law enforcement leader who understands that protecting the rights of the people is his utmost duty. He knows that his allegiance is not to any branch of government or any executive therein, but to the blindfolded lady holding the scales. Politics and political correctness have been responsible for removing the blindfold from the face of Lady Justice, but the Constitutional Sheriff has recognized this subterfuge. He will not go along with this!
The Constitutional Sheriff honors his Oath of Office, he considers it sacred and does his best to keep it. To him, the rights of the people come first.
Constitutional Sheriffs are not robots nor are they the strong arm of government. Most assuredly, they are not revenue agents for the government. They understand the Constitution and its origin, its history, and the intent of those who penned it. They know and understand the Rule of Law, integrity is an essential part of this. They are committed to follow standards of morality and decency despite the pressures to go along with trends that have blurred these lines.
Constitutional Sheriffs have a fundamental belief in the sanctity of life. They have compassion and a keen sense of fairness. These sheriffs have the intestinal fortitude to stand and confront law breakers, regardless of who they are. No one, not even government or elected officials, are above the law. He does all this with no arrogance, no bias, and no prejudice.
Constitutional Sheriffs believe that duty, honor, and accountability are paramount. They have self control and will not let their emotions dictate their actions in the performance of their duties. They have the wisdom and ability to deescalate the most tense situation. They strive to go the extra mile and put the safety and well being of others before their own. They serve the people with pride and professionalism.
To Constitutional Sheriffs, it is an honor to wear the badge. They are proud to be called "Constitutional" and they are proud to be called "Sheriff." Both are terms of historic significance. The news media, politicians, and many government and police officials, and even some sheriffs, have tried to characterize Constitutional Sheriffs as a "threat." But please allow me to ask; how does following the Constitution pose a threat to anyone?
Yes, I totally understand how enforcing the Constitution may pose a threat to those who do not or who willfully oppose it. Nevertheless, we have all sworn an oath to uphold, defend, and obey the United States Constitution. If we fail to keep our word WE become the problem and are worse than those we put in our cuffs or jails. The Constitution is Law and is the Supreme Law. Just how does a Constitutional Sheriff pose any sort of threat to society in any manner?
If keeping a solemn oath to protect and defend the Constitution from "all enemies, both foreign and domestic" is somehow extreme or radical, then by all means, count me in! I believe it was Senator Barry Goldwater who said, "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue."
He was right!
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Former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack emphasizes the importance of individual commitment to right and wrong and to the U.S. Constitution, encouraging each of us to stand against oppressors of governmental power with faith as David did against Goliath.
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How Much Government is Too Much, or Too Little?
By Rick Dalton
The Spectrum of Government
There are many people who say that the best government is no government. The Founders believed that government is best which governs least, and they were right. Today's political spectrum is much different from that of the writers of the Declaration and the Constitution. There's a vocal group of members who seem to espouse abandoning the Constitution- because it hasn't succeeded in preserving freedom of choice, and because it institutes the use of force.
When someone points out that the Constitution has been ignored, twisted, and attacked until it is on life support, they say we need to move on to a perfect society where no one rules over anyone else. They say that we're supposed to govern ourselves, and so we don't need any kind of government, especially since the Constitution has failed.
This idea is called, among other things, "voluntarism". Where safety and protection are not provided by an external government, but by individual, private contracts where needed, but basically it's individual self-government, where no individual has an external government force acting upon him that he did not specifically and personally contract for and agree to accept. As one Anarchist said, it's "voluntary interaction between people without the use of force."
The Founders understood that, while some government was necessary, to "secure....rights" (See the Declaration of Independence), too much government was tyranny. Having no government, to the Founders, was worse than tyranny, and the anarchy that came from it eventually led to tyranny once again. Here's how they reasoned it out:
Ruler's law, people's law, or no law (Anarchy)
"Government is defined in the dictionary as "a system of ruling or controlling," and therefore the American Founders measured political systems in terms of the amount of coercive power or systematic control which a particular system of government exercises over its people. In other words, the yardstick is not political parties, but political power.
"Using this type of yardstick, the American Founders considered the two extremes to be anarchy on the one hand, and tyranny on the other. At the one extreme of anarchy there is no government, no law, no systematic control and no governmental power, while at the other extreme there is too much control, too much political oppression, too much government. Or, as the Founders called it, "tyranny.
"The object of the Founders was to discover the "balanced center" between these two extremes. They recognized that under the chaotic confusion of anarchy there is "no law," whereas at the other extreme the law is totally dominated by the ruling power and is therefore "Ruler's Law." What they wanted to establish was a system of "People's Law," where the government is kept under the control of the people and political power is maintained at the balanced center with enough government to maintain security, justice, and good order, but not enough government to abuse the people.
"The contrast between Ruler's Law (all power in the ruler) and People's Law (all power in the people) could be graphically illustrated as follows. Note where the power base is located under each of these systems. Also compare the relationship between the individual and the rest of society under these two systems."
The entire weight of the pyramid of power rests on the head of the individual, under Ruler's Law. This is wicked and evil.
People's Law, on the other hand,
The full story of how they came to set up the American Republic, is available HERE.
This is the government set up by the Founders under the direction and inspiration of the Lord.
Nowhere in any of the writings is there any support for anarchy, or no law. They believed that any government, even a tyrannical one, would be preferable to no government. (Source: nccs.net)
No Government is Self Government?
My anarchist friends, who even have a Facebook group, , say that anarchy isn't really no government, and it's not chaos, it's only no external government. They claim that everyone would take care of his own needs and protection and everyone would refrain from hurting others. If desired, individuals could contract with others for protection from theft, violence, fire, etc. The result of this idea in practical terms is frightening. The reason is that mankind is still fallen,and every human has the tendency to be selfish, carnal, and to be willing to live at the expense of others if possible. Of course, religion is designed to bridle those tendencies, but mankind cannot be perfected in this life. Hence the need for government.
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