THE FORGOTTEN 9TH AMENDMENT

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Granted, I had to read it about 50 times before I understood it. But if somebody stopped me on the street and asked me what my favorite US Constitutional Amendment was, I think I'd have to say the 9th. It is a perfect reminder that the Bill of Rights only refers to limitations to the government...not to the people it governs.

I'm really surprised that this amendment is overlooked. It speaks directly to numerous social issues... including gay marriage, abortion, right to die, and drug use to name a few. I think this is a shining example of the amazing vision our founders had for this country. The rest of the world thought it was an amazing vision as well. France gave us a statue, for crying out loud!

You can call me a raving, left-wing, liberal hippie if you want. This isn't even about politics. How many constitutional rights can you name? Freedom of Speech, Right to Bear Arms, Right to not witness against oneself... without looking them up, how many more can you name?

Most of us aren't even aware of the freedoms we're entitled to, resulting in those freedoms being taken away without us even putting up any resistance what-so-ever. One example that comes to mind is the Patriot Act. HOW WERE WE EVER OKAY WITH THIS!? Because of a terrorist threat? Come on...you're smarter than that. Once the foot is in the door, it's never leaving. Just like the income tax (which isn't required by any known law).

The 9th Amendment protects our right to privacy (amongst many others), and we are allowing that privacy to be taken from us. Even those who speak against the Patriot Act do it meekly and give up after a short while.

Just SUPPOSE a tyrannical government WANTED to monitor what you were doing in your homes? Do you think they'd ask nicely? Do you think they'd make it OBVIOUS that that is what they are doing? No way. That couldn't possibly work. You see, any good car sales me can tell you that the trick is to make them think that it is THEIR IDEA. Or at the very least, make them believe that it is a GOOD idea.

Right to privacy is gone. Kiss it goodbye. It's too late. The foot is in the door and now the door will remain open. We've squandered this one by being extremely gullible, naive, and rash.

The future of America is not one of freedom, I'm afraid. There are some great voices of reason out there...but nobody can hear them for all the white noise made by the mass media.

Horrible things are ahead unless we begin to FULLY understand the things that we think we feel so strongly about. You wouldn't feel so strongly about a lot of things if you knew everything there is to know about it...and I'm not just talking to Conservatives. It's EVERYONE! Please use your brain. Please!

One other thing:

I think a lot of people think about the Bill of Rights in the wrong way. This document does NOT create these rights. It merely acknowledges them. They are a "given". And the 9th Amendment makes it clear that there are OTHER FREEDOMS that OTHER PEOPLE may feel are important...and that those freedoms are protected as well.

Most of the people that I hear raving about how great America is have no idea what the idea of this country was in the first place. They're all just repeating propaganda. They don't "get it". I suggest reading up on early American history... but do the research YOURSELF! Don't rely on a textbook or a professor to tell you what did or didn't happen. They may be right...but they may be wrong. Please, for all of us, look into it yourself.