Who’s in Charge?

In what came as a surprise to no one, freshman Representative and Democratic rock star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has made another amazingly interesting comment. Late last month at a “Girls Who Code” event, Ocasio-Cortez unloaded on critics of her “Green New Deal,” of which there are quite a few. Defending her ideas wouldn’t have been a problem had it not been for a pretty amazing line that she dropped during her talk when she said that until those criticizing her plan came up with a plan of their own, “I’m the boss.” Let’s look at what is wrong with this statement both Constitutionally and historically.

We start with George Washington who stated, “The power under the Constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can and undoubtedly will be recalled.” Now let’s listen to Daniel Webster when he said, “It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions.” He went on to say, “There are men, in all ages…who mean to govern well; but they mean to govern. They promise to be kind masters; but they mean to be masters…The love of power may sink too deep in their own hearts.” Do these quotes sound like our Founders viewed elected leaders as the “boss?” No, George Washington called them “servants” and made it quite clear that they are to serve at the pleasure of their constituents and Daniel Webster viewed them as individuals who needed to be restrained.

This leads us to look through the simple lens of history. America was founded on the ideals of individual liberty as stated in the Declaration of Independence, “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, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This reasoning continued into the formation of the U.S. Constitution which was designed to put specific checks on what the government can and can’t do. The government was created with checks and balances for the very reason of keeping elected leaders from being “our boss.” Thomas Jefferson echoed this sentiment when he said, “In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”

This idea fits in with the actual Merriam-Webster definition of representative, “1: Serving to represent. 2a: Standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority.” I’m still trying to find the evidence for our representatives being our “boss.” Seems like in America, the people are the boss, and the representatives are the servant. However, we must be aware of dangers we see in today’s America.

Numbers show that the popularity of socialism, and the big government that comes with it, is on the rise, especially among young people. Suddenly individuals can’t name the five rights guaranteed in the First Amendment, let alone the three branches of government. This exposes a real problem. Once people don’t know how the government is supposed to be limited by the Constitution and how the freedoms are guaranteed in that same Constitution, this opens up the opportunity for people to steal our freedoms right out from under us. James Madison said, “A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.” It is incumbent upon us to be well-instructed citizens and know what our Constitution says and how our Constitution is supposed to limit the power of government. If we don’t, leaders in office may well soon be our boss. See socialist countries such as Venezuela for an example.

However, in the meantime Rep. Ocasio-Cortez might want to read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other writings of our Founding Fathers before she proclaims herself the “boss.” If she is actually interested in the truth, she will realize America was founded on the freedom, not the control, of the individual. If that doesn’t work, maybe she can ask King George how telling Americans “he was the boss” worked for him.

Isaac Hadam is an 18 year old who writes and speaks about the U.S. Constitution. He is the Vice-President of the Constitutional Awareness Pact, has written for the Conway Daily Sun, and is a contributing writer to the Weirs Times. For more info please visit www.constitutionalawarenesspact.webs.com.

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