The Separation of Powers & A Free Press:

The enemy of fear, fascism , & falsehood.

 During the Fall of 2015 I printed off the Constitution of the United States and began to read it again. My last reading was in the 1950’s.  I wanted to understand the truth of what politicians were talking about, or not talking about during the beginning months of the preparation for the 2016 Presidential Campaign.  Besides, there have been six new amendments since my last full reading.

I, for one, am very grateful to our founding fathers (and the men and women who supported them) for the great insights and excellent work they did to establish this Constitution.  Without it, I am afraid, we would be in more chaos than we are today and we may not have lasted as a nation and people.

What a system of checks and balances. I know that the interpretation of the Constitution has, and continues to be, a cause of great debate and problems for many politicians and citizens at times, as well as other countries and their citizens, but it remains as strong and flexible as it needs to be to help us grow into an even greater nation.    We are witnessing the bending and stretching of the Constitution, and all it stands for, under the new administration in 2017.  Whether we are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, or Green Party supporters, this nation will stand strong if we are vigilant and support the full intention of the Constitution.  As citizens, special interest groups, political parties and others seek to stretch and bend specific aspects of the intent of the Constitution, which was simply written by our founding fathers within 13 printed pages, including the first ten Amendments by 1791, it remains strong and true.

The separation of powers is critical, Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches.  The first Amendment – Freedom of Religion, Press, and Expression was ratified first in 12/15/1791 with nine other important Amendments to follow during that vote.

”Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

While all that is written in articles, in a variety of printed forms, the written word may not all be exactly correct in every instance, still we do have responsible reporting in the news and there are a variety of sources sharing the news from different political and social views.  The problem is not in the news that is being reported, except for some “created or so-called fake news” coming in from other countries and sources through social media these days. The greater problem is with the words and actions that are spoken by public servants, especially those that seek to hide the truth from the American people, and then call the legitimate press the bad guys for reporting the news they are given, or witness.  One example: Richard Nixon would have remained in office if the news had not reported on the leaks surrounding Watergate.  If you are listening today, you know of other examples to quote. One could list the Oklahoma bombing or the 1930's in Germany as average citizens, many Christian, remained quiet and sometimes supportive of the rise of fascism in that country. We need to be vigilante, stay informed and speak our truth.                                                                                          
                                                                                    by Ron Kurtz