Class is in Session

When conservatives talk about the federal judiciary and the importance of who appoints those judges I believe that we are shooting way over most people's heads. We talk about judicial activism, legislating from the bench, original intent and strict constructionists. Most folks hear our candidates talking like that and say, 'huh?' The liberals' candidates come out and talk about appointing judges who will use the law with compassion in order to help out the little guy and make things more fair for the average working stiff. Hurrah!, scream the masses. We are technically right and they win the election. Brilliant. Our discourse must be based upon an understanding that education has failed our people in the last 40 years. Most people voting today do not have a good grounding in their understanding of our history, heritage and workings of government. They just don't know how the courts work and why. They don't understand the constitution and how our freedoms, liberties and rights are established and protected and even why that is and should be so important to them. The concept of a large intrusive federal government simply does not frighten them. They see it as better able to give them more and do more for them. They don't understand why the Framers were so skittish about a strong central government and enamored with the idea of the States holding more power and authority. This is why so many people are confused about the role of the Electoral College and clamor for its abolition. I fear that far too many people believe that our rights come from the federal government. They don't realize that our founding documents clearly point out that the Founders believed that our rights come from God and the government is charged with the duty of protecting those rights. If rights come from government they can also be taken away by government. Rights conferred by God cannot be taken away by government. If government attempts to usurp our God-given rights it is then the right of the people to alter or abolish such a government. That's what the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War were all about. We conservatives must assume the role of educating the American populace about these fundamental principles and functions of the federal government and courts. We must do this in an engaging fashion, meeting people on their level and explaining these things in ways that people can understand simply and apply directly to their daily lives. Only then can we make the case to the American people in elections that our candidates really do have the common man's best interests at heart. Ring the school bell!