Read the latest news about the struggle to preserve parental rights at all levels of government. Learn what the Santa Clara Moms for Liberty group has been up to, what upcoming events and functions we're having, and how you can help.
Many define politics as the exercise of power. The definition of politics as the exercise of power requires that we make clear what we mean by power.
Various people have offered good definitions of power. The political scientist Robert A. Dahl (1915–2014) defined power as influence over the actions of others: ‘A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do’ (Dahl, 1957, pp. 202–3). Political scientist Harold Lasswell (1902–1978) offers another view of political power, saying that politics is about ‘who gets what, when and how’ (Lasswell, 1936). Lasswell has a distinctly economic dimension, saying that politics involves the distribution of resources, or ‘who gets what’.
But who acts as sovereign within these United States? The answer is given in the first three words of our Constitution. We should remember our power...
James Madison on the Essence of Government
Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;
for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
Psalm 37:16,17 (NIV)
Support the idea of freedom
If you share our concern over what has been taking place in our classrooms, please consider joining with us as we fight for families, for children, for education, for truth, and for common sense.
We continue to ask people whether they understand what is now taking place within our school systems. We continue to provide information and resources to help people, especially parents, gain some idea of what's being taught to kids (and why). And yes, we continue to ask people to get involved and help with the lifting.
We fight against children being taught to hate their country, to judge people based on the color of their skin, and to ignore the basic truths of biology. We fight against the sexualization in school of little ones and the destruction of the innocence of youth. Perhaps most importantly, we fight to ensure that the proper teaching of math, reading and writing remain at the forefront of a child's education.
The idea that it is parents who are responsible for raising, educating, and seeing to the well being of their kids, that is sacrosanct.
Join with us in preserving the attributes and ideals of this great nation.
Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and family. Actually anyone who acknowledges the fundamental right of parents to raise, educate, and protect their children are invited to join with us. We are gathering a group of joyful warriors, folks who understands why (and for whom) we fight.
Yes, We The People Are Sovereign
The preamble of the Constitution communicates the intention and purpose behind the document. In the 52-word opening paragraph the Founders provide context for the highest law of the land, stating who is constituting the government and why they are doing so.
The first objective of our governance? The establishment of justice.
Equal justice under law must be ensured. Lex Rex - the law is king!
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Sun July 30th from 3pm to 4:30pm: Monthly Madison Meetup, a time to meet together and discuss our nation's founding documents, the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The discussion topic and leading questions are emailed one week in advance. To join in, please send an email with the subject "Join" (and an indication of the number of people in addition to yourself who will attend) to
“True” constitutions serve the common interests of all citizens. “Despotic” constitutions serve only the selfish interests of a certain person or group. (Despotic is a synonym for “tyrannic.”) Tyranny perverts monarchy, because it “has in view the interest of the monarch only.” To Aristotle, tyranny is the "arbitrary power of an individual . . . responsible to no one, [which] governs . . . with a view to its own advantage, not to that of its subjects, and therefore against their will."
[What form of government do we have today?]
Aristotle wrote, “No freeman, if he can escape from it, will endure such a government.”
Aristotle believed that tyranny is the “very reverse of a constitution.” He explained that "where the laws have no authority, there is no constitution. The law ought to be supreme over all."
Aristotle stressed that these laws must uphold just principles, such that “true forms of government will of necessity have just laws, and perverted forms of government will have unjust laws.”
Aristotle held views similar to Plato’s about the dangers of democracy and oligarchy. He feared that both pitted the rich against the poor. But he recognized that these types of governments took many forms. The worst were those without the rule of law. In democracies without law, demagogues (leaders appealing to emotions) took over.
For in democracies where the laws are not supreme, demagogues spring up. . . . [T]his sort of democracy . . . [is] what tyranny is to other forms of monarchy. The spirit of both is the same, and they alike exercise a despotic rule over the better citizens. The decrees of the [demagogues] correspond to the edicts of the tyrant . . . . Such a democracy is fairly open to the objection that it is not a constitution at all; for where the laws have no authority, there is no constitution. The law ought to be supreme over all . . . .
Aristotle made the same argument about oligarchies.
When . . . the rulers have great wealth and numerous friends, this sort of family despotism approaches a monarchy; individuals rule and not the law. This is the fourth sort of oligarchy, and is analogous to the last sort of democracy.
Aristotle stated that “the rule of law . . . is preferable to that of any individual.” This is because individuals possess flaws and could tailor government to their own individual interests, whereas the rule of law is objective.
[H]e who bids the law rule may be deemed to bid God and Reason alone rule, but he who bids man rule adds an element of the beast; for desire is a wild beast, and passion perverts the minds of rulers, even when they are the best of men. The law is reason unaffected by desire.
Rulers must be “the servants of the laws,” because “law is order, and good law is good order.”
In addition to law, Aristotle believed a large middle class would protect against the excesses of oligarchy and democracy:
[T]he best political community is formed by citizens of the middle class, and that those states are likely to be well-administered in which the middle class is large, and stronger if possible than both the other classes . . . ; for the addition of the middle class turns the scale, and prevents either of the extremes from being dominant.
In fact, one of Aristotle’s true forms of government is a polity, a combination of oligarchy and democracy. This type of state arises when the middle class is strong.
While the U.S. Constitution does not expressly discuss parental rights, the right to protect, raise, and educate your own children has been described as the oldest of our fundamental liberties.
The history and culture of Western civilization embraces a strong tradition of parental rights, and the Supreme Court of these United States has described parental rights as being "established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition." See Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 US 205, 232 (1972).
Parents need to begin to recognize the rights they hold as parents, and make their voices heard. Only then can we hope to turn things around.
Madison Meetup
Interested in learning more about our Constitution and Declaration of Independence? Want to discuss the principles upon which this precious republic was founded? Well you are in luck!
Moms for Liberty Santa Clara is now hosting monthly "Madison Meetup" gatherings on the last Sunday of each month. Meetings take place from 3 to 4:30pm in meeting room at the Bascom branch of the San Jose Public Library, located at 1000 South Bascom Avenue San Jose.
Open to ages 8 years and up. All attendees will be provided with a pocket constitution. Discussion topics will be emailed to those who are signed up one week in advance of the meeting. Please let us know if you'll be attending.
Make James Madison and the other founding fathers proud!
The U.S. Constitution
Like Plato and Aristotle, our nation’s founders worried about tyrannical government. Recognizing that tyranny could come from a single powerful ruler or from “mob rule,” the founders wrote into the Constitution mechanisms to prevent tyranny and promote the rule of law. They separated the powers of government into three equal branches of government: the executive (the president), the legislative (Congress), and the judicial (the Supreme Court). Each branch can check the other to prevent corruption or tyranny. Congress itself is divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House, elected for two-year terms, is more likely to be swayed by the passions of the people than the Senate, elected to six-year terms. The Constitution further limits the powers of the government by listing its powers: The government may not exercise any power beyond those listed. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, protect people’s liberties and freedoms from government encroachment. In creating the judicial branch of government, the framers gave federal judges lifetime terms, thus ensuring that judges would base their decisions on the law and not on politics.
Please let us know if you'll be attending. We are trying to get a handle on if there's interest in doing this. Thanks!
Think on this...
THE ESSENCE OF GOVERNMENT IS POWER; AND POWER, LODGED AS IT MUST BE IN HUMAN HANDS, IS LIABLE TO ABUSE.
- James Madison
DOES THE GOVERNMENT FEAR US? OR DO WE FEAR THE GOVERNMENT? WHEN THE PEOPLE FEAR THE GOVERNMENT, TYRANNY HAS FOUND VICTORY. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS OUR SERVANT, NOT OUR MASTER!
- Thomas Jefferson
THE LIBERTY OF A DEMOCRACY IS NOT SAFE IF THE PEOPLE TOLERATED THE GROWTH OF PRIVATE POWER TO A POINT WHERE IT BECOMES STRONGER THAN THE DEMOCRATIC STATE ITSELF. THAT IN ITS ESSENCE IS FASCISM: OWNERSHIP OF GOVERNMENT BY AN INDIVIDUAL, BY A GROUP, OR ANY CONTROLLING PRIVATE POWER.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Moms for Liberty Santa Clara County operates as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization.
The organization's primary mission is to organize, educate and empower parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.
