Personal Liberty: A Crisis In America

by Lee F. McKenzie (Utah)

A PROBLEM SOMETIMES INVOLVING JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

Some time ago I received a letter from my U.S. Senator. The letter was in response to my complaints about the sale of pornographic material on U.S. Military installations. In his letter the Senator referred to Congressional enactment to the Military Honor and Decency Act of 1996 which was part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 1997. The Senator said that a portion of the United States Code, Section 2489a, was enacted to prohibit the sale or rental of sexually explicit material on property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. This act did not ban or restrict the possession of such material on military property.

The Senator referred to the fact that the act was challenged in the United States District Court (Southern District of New York) on the grounds of unconstitutionality. United States District Judge Shira A Scheindlin found that the act was in violation of the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Judge Scheindlin made the comment in her decision that "society is better served by protecting our cherished right to free speech, even at the cost of tolerating speech that is outrageous, offensive and demeaning."

PREDATORY PRACTICES WHICH ARE CONFUSED WITH PERSONAL RIGHTS

I believe that the above example is very typical of a much larger crisis in personal rights which we are facing in American society today. The problem involves the need for proper definition in establishing genuine "personal rights" and extends into a host of issues including:

• homosexuality
• commercial gambling
• the sale of pornography
• unrestricted abortions
• indecency in the media
• the legalized sale of addictive substances to the public

THE RISKS OF ACCEPTING PREDATORY PRACTICES

In the name of "personal liberty" Americans are duped into feeling obliged to endure lawless, amoral and predatory practices which have the potential of destroying the social fabric of the America we love. This careless libertarian philosophy envisions an anarchy where each individual totally defines his own actions without restraints of public law. With respect to pornography one need only go to the state prisons and interview sex offenders including rapists, child molesters and those guilty of sex based homicides to find that a majority of such individuals began their criminal paths with the reading and viewing of pornography. The unbridled quest for personal rights is overlooking the consequences of society without law. In the name of "personal liberty" this libertarian philosophy would condemn America to a lawless predatory state in which true liberty is lost to chaos.

I am reminded of the words of the song, "America the Beautiful" which say, "Confirm thy soul with self control. Thy liberty in law." The meaning is clear, that without law true liberty is lost. It seems to me that too often our judiciary is loosing sight of where personal rights end and public good in a civilized state of society begins. The disregard for moral law by the judiciary only incites predators to boldness in having their way in society.

SIMPLE DISTINCTIONS FOR THE LIMITS OF GENUINE PERSONAL RIGHTS

Clinton Howard, an American Patriot of the first part of the 20th century gave an example which helps us understand and distinguish fair limits to personal liberty. He said that, "If your hog dies of cholera, you have the personal right to grind it up into sausage and eat it, but you have not the right to offer it for public sale." to deliberately seek profit at a cost in suffering and death to others goes beyond the limits of personal liberty. When viewed from this perspective Congress' enactment of a prohibition on the sale of pornography at military bases is a good law. While it protects society from the offensive and harmful public act of selling pornography, it does not infringe upon individual rights to possess such materials.

Whereas the above distinction defines a limit for personal liberty by preventing financial profit from predatory behavior, another distinction involves safeguarding public health. A prime example in American Society today involves attempts of organized homosexual groups to gain public acceptance of homosexual lifestyles, including the official recognition homosexual marriages, and the teaching of homosexual lifestyles in educational materials. Federal statistics have clearly shown the homosexual lifestyle to be the prime driving force of the AIDS epidemic in America. Americans and the American government should not feel obliged to publicly accept homosexual lifestyles in the name of "personal liberty". To do so invites destruction and sorrow.

ACTIONS TO TAKE

1. Americans should not tolerate public officials (including judges) who promote predatory practices by ignoring moral law. Whether by voting for moral leadership or by impeachment of those who work against moral law, citizens need to take a stand for what is right.

2. Common citizens, who have an uncommon commitment to moral values need to become actively involved in their own government. There is a critical need for candidates, patriotic men and women who will stand in defense of home, family, virtue and genuine Constitutional Rights.

3. When voting, citizens need to have the courage to fully vote their conscience. Too often voters will vote for the second best candidate (like a Republican) out of fear that the worst candidate (like a Democrat) will win. When we always vote for second best, second best is all we will ever hope to have.

4. The current system of financing political races by PAC's must come to an end in order for elected officials to become free of those who prey upon society for financial gain. We need elected officials who are driven by a love of God, by a love of America and by a love for the Constitution, and not elected officials who are driven by the sources of money that keep them in power.