Scott M. Stolz

2025-03-30 08:47:08

scott@loves.tech

If you read the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, you will notice that it guarantees rights to people... not just citizens... to people.

I don't care what your political persuasion is. Rights aren't just for you. They are for everyone.

2025-03-30 10:51:12

Marshall Sutherland

dwatney@hub.farthinghalearms.com

Two thoughts:

1. In the US, the US Constitution represents legal authority, even if its moral authority is dismissed.

2. Most ideas are build off of prior ideas from generations past. Should we reject ideas just because the person or persons who most recently got credit for them doesn't meet our standards? Should we trace back the lineage of those ideas to make sure they are untainted by anyone in their past? Or should we judge the ideas on their own merits?

2025-03-30 11:09:14

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

@hosh I understand you point of view, but you have to remember that not all of them were slave owners. In fact, half of them were abolitionists, who wanted to end slavery. And the abolitionists weren't stupid. Even though they had to compromise on slavery to get the Constitution ratified, they inserted language into the Constitution that they hoped would be interpreted to apply to all people in the future. Slavery was a worldwide institution at that point, and they did not have the power at that time to stop it. After slavery was abolished and after the Civil Right Act was passed, their vision for a better future was finally be implemented, at least in law. We are still waiting for certain parts of the population to catch up, but at least the law is pretty clear. It is illegal to violate anyone's rights, regardless of the color of their skin.

Think of it this way. Just because your neighbor is a thief, that does not make you a thief. And, likewise, just because some of the Founding Fathers had slaves, that did not mean all of them had slaves. A large percentage of them we very vocal abolitionists.

2025-03-30 11:13:57

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

Personally, I think it is important, especially in this political environment where people's rights are being violated, that we point out that the U.S. Constitution clearly says the U.S. government cannot violate your rights. Regardless of where one wants to draw their moral stance from, U.S. government officials are bound by the Constitution and laws, and nothing else. I could cite various declarations of human rights, but none of that matters. The courts will enforce the U.S. Constitution, not other documents.