RTFM America!

Stop screwing with the controls

America’s founding fathers were rather brilliant men, especially for their young age. Would that anyone in government today was as intelligent. That notwithstanding, in their wisdom, they created a Union of independent, sovereign States so that, though they would remain independent and sovereign, those States could help look after the well-being of one another. They also believed that having such a Union could help preserve the liberty of the individual. The individuals and State would each have representation in the new form of government, and that government would protect the rights of the States and the individual. They laid out much of their initial thinking in a quick-start guide called The Declaration of Independence.

The founders also realized, however, that building and maintaining this Union would not be easy. Since the success of the country would depend upon individual effort (not communal effort), much work would be involved for the citizens. Thus, the founders provided a manual for operating the Union - the Constitution. Incumbent upon the individual, then, in modern tech support vernacular is to RTFM - Read the F^@#!*$ Manual. Unfortunately, as with so many devices, users are not inclined to read or understand; instead, they want to push buttons, pull levers, tweak settings, and try to make a device do what they want rather than operate as it is intended. More often than not, this results in a broken or corrupted device that needs to be reset or replaced. Such is what has happened to the U.S. and its federal government.

If you tout the trope “Constitutional right” under the assumption that the Constitution grants you rights, RTFM America! The Constitution protects our rights from government transgression; it does not grant a single right.

If you believe it is the government’s job to do for those what they can’t do for themselves, RTFM America! You’ll find this a foreign concept to the Constitution.

If you think the government should provide for those who don’t have, RTFM America! The founders believed no such thing. 

If you consider healthcare to be within the government’s purview, RTFM America! The powers and responsibilities granted the federal government are few and specific, and healthcare is not among them.

If you presume the federal government should provide financial or military assistance to other countries, RTFM America! The constitution accords the government no charitable purpose.

If you suppose the government has a duty to protect you personally, RTFM America! The government is accountable for protecting the country’s borders, not individual citizens.

If you imagine that the State governments are subservient to the federal government, RTFM America! The States, and even individuals, possess far more power. This is the essence of the Tenth Amendment.

If you conceive that the federal government exists for purposes beyond protecting your rights, your liberty, RTFM America! Because, clearly, you haven’t even read the quick-start guide - “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men.” That is the essence of our federal government - to secure our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; not to provide these, but to ensure your right to them is not infringed. The government, therefore, should least of anyone infringe upon these rights.

It is a failure of citizens to read and comprehend the Constitution that has led to our Country, our government, being broken and corrupt. You can’t screw with the controls without understanding how they are supposed to work, and expect that everything will continue to function properly. It is ignorance of our founding principles that has caused America to fall so far from the ideals to which it once aspired. It is the failure of citizens to acquire a proper understanding of government that is now turning them into subjects. There is a way to right the ship, but it requires work on the part of everyone. So…RTFM America!!!