How to … reclaim America’s First Principles and history
by Judge Michael Warren
“Only lay down true principles, and adhere to them inflexibly. Do not be frightened into their surrender by the alarms of the timid, or the croakings of wealth against the ascendancy of the people….
“A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third; and so on, till the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sin and suffering.”
— Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Samuel Kercheval (1816).
One of the best introductions to America’s First Principles, America’s Survival Guide is a primer for those principles, along with several practical steps that we as Americans must take to reclaim liberty in our country. The author, Michael Warren, an actual sitting circuit court judge in Michigan, spells out the mission statement of the book at the outset:
America was founded on First Principles
- Striving to fulfill our First Principles has made America a free, just, and great nation
- Politicians, the media, educators, academics, the legal profession, and the general public generally ignore or even attack our First Principles and history
- By ignoring and denigrating our First Principles and history, America is slowly committing suicide
- Only by invigorating our understanding of America’s First Principles and history can we survive and prosper
All begging the question, “What are these American First Principles?”
America’s First Principles
I was first exposed to First Principles by a gentleman named Patrick McGilvery. Both of us were attending Doreen Hendrickson’s second trial in July 2014, in which, incredibly and outrageously, she was convicted by a servile, judge-tampered jury of ‘criminal contempt’ [for refusing to commit perjury on a tax-form affidavit on the order of a federal judge]. He pointed out to me the origin of the concept… 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 Inalienable 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. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as, to them, shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
Ol’ TJ expressed First Principles as succinctly as anyone can… and laid them on the line to the would-be British overlords. Judge Warren summarizes the meaning and implications of the Declaration segment above in five essential tenets:
- The rule of law
- The recognition and protection of the inalienable rights of individuals
- The equality of individuals
- The ‘social compact’ (i.e. that governments are instituted by the people and derive their just powers from the consent of the governed)
- The protection of inalienable rights as the legitimate purpose and limit of government (i.e. the government must have the authority and the strength to protect the unalienable rights of the people, but only have such power is necessary to fulfill that purpose)
The above list is a direct quote from the book. I would probably change the order, as well as not be so clearly tied to the necessity of coercive government AT ALL, which seems to be the thrust of the author’s point 5. [I would make it: 1) natural freedom of individuals, 2) equality of individuals in society with respect to that natural freedom, 3) law based on recognition of individual rights, 4) legitimate government solely purposed to protect individual rights, 5) the people decide when a government becomes illegitimate. And the powerful implication of my point 5 is the people monitor and control government via their agency of the grand and petit jury (so as to minimize the chances for emergence of bad government). A second powerful implication of my point 5: panarchy, or freedom of choice in government. ]
The author goes on to provide innumerable fine insights into the nature of the cause the American colonists fought for, as well as how the republic developed subsequently—coming to the present via the end of slavery in the 19th century and the general legal equality of the sexes and races thru the 20th century. He includes a penetrating discussion of the Constitution with history lessons that are invaluable, many of which I was unaware.
This is an excellent work that is well suited to being introduced to high school and college students. Of course, the number of young persons whose minds have been diverted from concern about First Principles or ‘good government’ has been on the rise for decades, culminating in a Tube-dominated culture that sees no value in conceptual understanding per se:
“The media have substituted themselves for the older world… The new media are not bridges between man and nature—they are nature… The new media are not ways of relating us to the old world; they are the real world and they reshape what remains of the old world at will… In television, images are projected at you. You are the screen. The images wrap around you. You are the vanishing point… The whole tendency of modern communication… is towards participation in a process, rather than apprehension of concepts.” — Marshall McLuhan
The modern potential for understanding as it is, Judge Warren has done a marvelous job setting forth the larger points for comprehension. It’s never been more vitally important that the general public of all ages ‘come to Jesus’ about First Principles: understand them and embrace them. Because they are under attack by a Cabal that grants no quarter.
With the caveats—that we the people need 1) to get control of our government(s) via grand and petit juries and 2) to consider real alternatives to the VERY BAD, corrupt illegitimate mob that calls itself the US government today—I heartily endorse America’s Survival Guide. A course on First Principles, including this book at the forefront, should be required in every public school for graduation.
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