Remembering How It All Started

The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America is the
masterpiece of American history. It speaks to all who love liberty. It
defines the tone of the early American colonists and their longing for
independence from tyranny, oppression, discriminnation, abuse of
natural rghts, and taxation without representation.
Hear these immortal words as they are who we are:

“We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
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.”

We cannot ponder this truth too often. It says fully that the Creator,
God, divine Mind, infinite good, the I am that I am, has made all of
us equal as sovereign individuals with rights that are given by this
Creator, not by other men or women,but that our rights are to be protected, secured by a government of men (or women).

I am very grateful that my father taught me early on, the importance of the Declaration of Independence, not just for Americans, but for everyone desiring the way of “liberty and justice for all.” When we internalize the ideas within this document, understand the context from which it was prepared, and focus on the applicability of the truths express, we become better citizens, and defenders of liberty, and rights.

This early American foundation stone allowed the success of many entrepreneurs in the land, and enabled the United States to have the best and most successful system of real estate with wide reaching home ownership in fee simple, with all the rights of ownership, than any other nation on earth. People from all over the world have come to buy real estate and take up home ownership. It has made the United States of America a rich land, an example to the world of what can be when the people recognize their rights as coming from something greater than anything on earth, greater than any human government, and that the people can speak up and discuss these rights, and fight to preserve them if necessary.  Laws and regulations were enacted to protect home ownership in the United States of America, and to make owning a home a practical, safe opportunity for so many. 

It has been and still is, relatively easy to buy a home in the United States, with its open society, and so many new and used homes on the market, including affordable prices for typical working people. So many have discovered the happiness of home ownership. I am reminded that the “pursuit of happiness” in early America often meant the pursuit of property.

Think of how wonderful that is, to have a government there to protect your life from criminals, oppressive laws, liberty to live where you want, in the kind of home you want, and the happiness of taking pride in owning a piece of the land with a house on it. If this has not been the American way, I don’t know what was. Even with more and more encroaching laws and regulations in our lives today, we still cherish home ownership, and have the continuing opportunities to pursue our dream of buying a home.

Our Constitutional Republic and Real Estate

America’s Founders created a system to protect “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” as stated in Declaration of Independence. The “pursuit of happiness” at that time meant the pursuit of property, and there were some that wanted “property” to be in the place of “happiness.” American’s of all periods have treasured the right to own property, and no other system on earth has protected, and enriched this right to own a home, or a piece of land.

You see, the Founders knew that government, left to itself, can take away the right to benefit from owning and using property. They knew the innately evil nature of government, having suffered the oppression of King George in England. The Founders were extremely educated, knowledgeable of world history, government, and were deep, reflective thinkers. They grouped together to create a system of government in which future generations of Americans would enjoy governmental protection of their “unalienable rights.” They made a system in which government has only ONE SOLE PURPOSE, and that is to “secure these rights…”

To protect the right to buy and own real estate, they created a Consitutional Republic. This is the best form of government to protect citizens, and control the growth, movement, and power of government.

I get tired of hearing people describe America as a democracy. That is not a word used much by America’s creators, since they defined Amerca as a Republic. Why? A democracy means that the majority rules over the minority. That leaves the minority without protection. A synonym for democracy is “mob rule.” The bigger, more populous group, has the most power, and makes the decisions. If you are in the minority, well, too bad. You are less important to society. In most of the history of democracies in the world, this is what has happened: one group take over government, because it is the larger and more powerful group. Then, a charismatic leader take control of the group, and becomes a friendly president, or other leader, but then, shortly, becomes a violent dictator. We see this over and over in history. However, in a Constitutional Repubic, there is no mob or majority rule anywhere.  Historically, the Repubican form of government has provided the most protection from dictators and evil men.  All groups, majority and minority have equal rights, and equal protection under the Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights (which is part of the Constitution). In a Republic, there are checks and balances on governments, and everyone’s vote counts, not just the votes of the biggest group. We have three arms of governments with the sole purpose to make a fair playing field for every American citizen: the Legislative, which makes the laws, the Executive, which enforces the laws made, and the Judicial, which interprets the laws, and tries cases in which clarification of the laws are necessary. As you read and study the Constitution of the United States of America, you can see how this document allows for a Republic as the best frame of government for all Americans. I admire the wisdom and thinking, as well as the enlightenment of America’s creators.

From the Federalist Papers comes a number of essays supporting the Constitution. Paper number 10 states the following about the American Republic:

“The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic are: first, in a republic, a small number of governmental delegates are elected by the rest of the citizens; secondly, a republic can be composed of a greater number of citizens over a larger country.”

Paper number 39 states:

     “The first question is whether the general form and appearance of the proposed government is strictly republican.
     Clearly, no other form would be reconcilable with the nature of the American people, with the fundamental principles of the Revolution, or with that honorable purpose- to base our political experiment on the ability of self-government-than animates every ardent advocate of freedom. “

     “If we look at the principles used to establish different forms of government for a criterion, we may define a repubic, or give that name to,  a government that derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the people and is administered by persons holding their offices-through election or appointment-at the people’s pleasure for a limited period or during good behavior.”

     “It is essential that a republican government spring from the great body of society, not from a small proportion or a favored class. “

As we read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers, we see that real estate is protected as an inalienable right from a creator, and is secured as a liberty by a government made to protect this liberty. We need to know who we are, a Republic, and not a democracy, since if we were a democracy, we may have long ago lost the liberty of buying a single family home, townhome, condominium, or acres of land. Americans under a Constitutional Republic have been able to buy many homes, even investment properties.

Let us all protect the work done by America’s creators. Let us cherish “the Republic, for which it stands…”