Thread by @themarketswork

1) 4,400 words long—7,600 w/amendments—& just four simple pages, our Constitution is the oldest—and shortest—written one in the world.

Nothing more important than the creation of those four pages has occurred in our history as a nation. #HappyThanksgiving
theepochtimes.com/a-constitution…

2) Our United States is a Constitutional Republic—characterized by a constitutionally limited government—with powers separated between three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

3) This structure was created precisely because our Founding Fathers were acutely aware of the dangers inherent in a pure democracy.

As John Adams famously noted, “There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”

4) A democracy’s singular defining feature is rule by the majority—it is majority over man.

In a democracy, “We the People” are viewed as a group.

A pure democracy is a dictatorship by the majority.

5) A republic, by contrast, is a form of government in which political authority comes from the people.

Powers are vested in the people and exercised through representatives chosen by the people.

Republics are bound by charters, which limit the powers of the state.

6) In a republic, “We the People” are viewed as individuals.

The purpose of a republican constitution is to secure the individual’s rights—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

7) These inalienable rights can’t be taken away by a majority-elected government.

They are protected from the majority by the Bill of Rights.

8) A “right” always conveys an action or nonaction onto another. This simple fact is often overlooked and even more frequently misunderstood.

We have only negative rights placed on us by our Constitution. This must be so in order to protect our individual rights.

9) A positive right is the requirement to engage in an activity to secure another individual’s rights.

Positive rights require an action on behalf of another individual.

Public health care and education, along with a minimum or living wage, are all examples of positive rights.

10) A negative right is required abstention from an activity that violates another’s rights.

A negative right is the requirement of a non-action.

Negative rights stem from the only fundamental right—the right to life.

All other rights spring from this fundamental right.

11) The right to life conveys freedom for an individual to pursue actions that support, sustain, and enhance his life.

It implies freedom from physical compulsion, coercion, or interference by others.

12) From right to life comes the right to property. W/out property rights, no other rights are possible.

If control over the benefits of his labor has been lost to another—the guarantee that if he earns it, he will keep it, has been lost.

13) This is why our Constitution is often referred to as charter of negative rather than positive liberties.

Each has the right to engage in activities to preserve and enhance his life—as long as he refrains from engaging in activities that prevent others from doing the same.

14) When every citizen is granted these same rights, then none are allowed to engage in any behavior that impairs the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of another.

We are free to pursue goals; we are not guaranteed to attain them.

15) Our nation’s Electoral College is intrinsically tied to our status as a constitutional republic and the basic concept of negative rights.

The Electoral College was put in place to protect states’ rights along with those of the individuals residing in them.

16) The Electoral College helps maintain our federal system of government, in which our national government’s power is balanced by states’ governmental power.

Each state’s political autonomy to directly serve its own citizens is enhanced.

17) It’s in our willingness to live by our republican charter—the Constitution of the United States—that allows us to maintain our freedom.

A Democracy, by contrast, is only as free as the majority’s understanding and application of the term “freedom.”

18) It’s said that Benjamin Franklin wept as he signed the Constitution.

He was 81 years old and so infirm that he required assistance—and yet he came, and he signed.

And he wept.

19) Upon leaving the Pennsylvania State House, Franklin was asked about the type of government just created.

Franklin responded simply:

“A republic, madam. If you can keep it.”

20) Somehow, someway, we have kept it through all these years.

That alone should be worth some tears of thankfulness, for it hasn’t come easy.

With great gifts come great responsibilities and sacrifices have been made by many in defense of this great nation.

21) And so, on this Thanksgiving, let us take stock of those many gifts given us by others.

On this day, originally created by President George Washington to give thanks for our new Constitution—and our new nation—these states become united.

Our United States.

/End