What Is A Patriot?

It had been eighteen months since Ann and I had introduced the final educational video covering the U.S. Constitution. The academy's media production company, Our Freedom Matters, LLC, had awakened the American electorate, or what our government called the governed, and a sense of pride in America was followed with a lust for regaining the individual freedoms that were being slowly eroded by power-seeking politicians. American citizens became patriots that loved their country and were willing to risk their personal freedom to ensure the preservation of liberty for future generations. Students referred to themselves as the future guardians of our constitutionally guaranteed liberties. Many students formed pacts agreeing in writing that they would not permit further erosion of individual liberties, and they would be willing to fight and, if needed, even give their lives to preserving their God-given rights. Patriotism had swept across the country and landed squarely in the faces of our elected politicians.

Patriots exercised their First Amendment rights and demanded that the president and the Congress uphold the U.S. Constitution or be removed from office. Patriots understood that "when the Government no longer represents the will of the people and such actions and conduct of our elected representatives diminishes our constitutional rights, freedoms and liberty, then it is time for civil discourse and when necessary, civil disobedience, including recalling those elected representatives that have broken the trust of the people" (J.A. Gauthier).

Patriots across the country began attending most public and even some private speeches given by the president and Congress. It wasn't long before many elected members in the House and Senate began announcing their retirement and would not seek reelection for another term.

In his public speeches, the president referred to the patriots as "anarchists," and in his speeches to his constituents, he explained to those that would still listen to him that the anarchists were anti-government domestic terrorists that had no respect for his authority, established order, and the ruling power of his office and Congress. The president and Congress used every opportunity to label the so-called patriots as domestic terrorist bent on the violent overthrow of our system of government to be replaced by anarchy. Conversely, the patriots referred to the president as a dictator and tyrannical oppressor who sought power over the mind of the American electorate. Congressmen and congresswomen began complaining about their perceived threats from the anarchist and demanded that immediate attention was needed to protect them from those that had once elected them into office. Neither the president nor the Congress wanted their authority diminished or challenged, especially by their electorate.

In the wake of all the dissention, Ann and I took every opportunity to remind Americans of what the founding fathers stated in the Declaration of Independence. "... Whenever our form of government became destructive of individual rights and personal liberties, then it is the right of the governed people to alter or abolish the government and institute a new government that would be responsive to the people." Patriots quoted the Declaration in response to the president's ongoing diatribe about who the patriots were as a group. Often bitter words were exchanged between the president and those who would seek to challenge his authority.

Patriots began distributing petitions to remove our ineffective politicians who failed to comprehend or enforce the provisions of Articles I and II of the Constitution. Patriots would yell at the president that his job was to enforce the laws of the nation and that the Congress was to make the laws for the nation. That was why we had a tripartite form of government that had checks and balances to avoid overreaching by the president and Congress. In the alternative, patriots proclaimed that it was now time to institute a new government that would be responsive to the people. The petitions received millions of American signatures, but the leadership in the House and Senate refused to sponsor the initiative at the federal level. Without sponsorship, the petitions went nowhere.

Through our academy studies, Ann and I understood that under Article VI of the Constitution, the founding fathers wrote, "This Constitution and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding Article VI became known as the "Supremacy Clause."

Ann and I brainstormed some ideas to get our government operating under the provisions of the Constitution and back in line with the constitutional duties outlined in Articles I and II. With the assistance of our legal representatives, Ann and I drafted a proposed law that would require all laws, rules, and regulations of any city, county, state, or federal government to be in compliance with the U.S. Constitution. There would be no more laws passed overriding individual liberties, and unilateral lawmaking by presidential fiat would cease. The law was presented to several Tea Party conservative members of the House of Representatives, but the law was refused by the House leadership since so many laws that had been passed by the House of Representatives were self-serving and benefited the Congress and their aides. It became clear that the government was unwilling to be bound by constitutional limitations on their power and authority. The academy funded outreach programs reminding Americans that the Congress was refusing to honor the Constitution and were permitting the president to make laws in derogation of Article I of the Constitution. Americans began to protest more loudly whenever self- serving speeches were made by unethical members of the Congress and by the president. Verbal threats to remove the members from office created fear in the members that they could be removed from office by an angry electorate.

The president and Congress met in a closed joint session to address the domestic terrorist that were interfering in how the government was being managed by the ruling elite, a term adopted by the president and Congress. Many representatives and senators from both aisles of the Congress expressed their concern about the angry electorate and their fear of an outright civil war to remove the government. The president reassured the Congress and reminded them that he had the "power of the pen" and a "bully pulpit" to challenge the conduct of the supposed domestic terrorist. The president's recommendation was to have Homeland Security, by governmental fiat, adopt a series of rules and regulations that would crush the opponents of the existing government. At this point, the Tea Party members and true conservative congresspersons from numerous states walked out on the president and refused to participate in such unconstitutional lawmaking.

One Homeland Security rule would limit protestors to a minimum of one thousand feet from any political speaking event. Signs were posted every time that speeches were given, reminding those who wished to protest that they had to remain at least one thousand feet away. Signs were placed stating, "No protesting beyond this point." This was considered a posted no-trespassing area, and a violation would be considered criminal trespass. To give this rule weight, the president signed an executive order mandating up to a mandatory one year in jail and a $5,000 fine for a first-time offense. The executive order had a chilling effect on many patriots, but not all. Many continued their protests and were arrested and routinely thrown into jail for exercising their rights and individual liberties. When one patriot fell, another stood in their place. The president and remaining members of the Congress recognized that patriots were no longer satisfied with empty rhetoric and unfulfilled promises. More needed to be done, not for the people, but in protection of the members of Congress and their jobs.

Patriots brought legal suit alleging that the one-thousand-foot restraint violated a citizen's free speech and assembly rights under the First Amendment. Courts routinely dismissed the lawsuits giving great deference to the president's executive order powers under the Constitution. The court reconciled the First Amendment with the safety and security for our elected representatives and held that safety and security outweighed the First Amendment protections. State legislators and progressive governors soon caught on and quickly adopted similar laws to protect state officials. It was clear that the government was circling the wagons in anticipation of what was perceived as a domestic terrorist attack on elected representatives and government at large.

Patriot groups began grassroots actions to secure their freedom from a tyrannical government. A recall petition was prepared to remove the president from office for high crimes and misdemeanors. Neither the House nor the Senate would bring the petition to the floor for an up or down vote. The liberal members of Congress believed that they would be next so they protected the president and their own jobs from what was quickly becoming an angry electorate. Many members of Congress feared that the masses would conspire to remove them from their office at the next election cycle and demanded that something be done to avoid that from happening. The Congress turned to the president and said, "Lead us, and we will follow you."

The Congress referred to themselves as the ruling elite. They declared that they were above the laws they passed and they had dominion over citizens by virtue of their elected office. Because of their status as a member of Congress, both major political parties joined in to adopt new laws that made public protest illegal unless a federal permit was first obtained. The permit needed to be applied for at least thirty days before the scheduled protest event. The federal permit fee of $1,000 was assessed for each permit, and no permit was given for periods longer than twenty-four hours. Of course, the president and Congress didn't announce their self-serving speeches until fifteen to twenty days before the event. As such, it was impossible to legally apply for a protest permit in a timely manner. This law served to increase public outcries of tyranny and oppression. Patriots began referring to the government as an oligarchy because the new law permitted a small group of elected officials to exercise unreasonable control over citizens for corrupt and selfish purposes. Citizens refused to respect the new protest law crying out that citizens had First Amendment rights and those rights could not be further infringed upon by the president or Congress.

The level of anarchy increased in direct proportion to the tyranny taken by our elected officials. Protests began occurring every day and in every venue. Neither the Congress nor the president felt secure pursuing public venues for self-serving speeches. Following a second meeting between the Congress and the president, a plan was formed to make sure that the patriots became publicly known as "domestic terrorist." Several empty government buildings were damaged by improvised bombs being detonated in such a manner that the destruction appeared worse than it was. Several national park buildings were destroyed in the same manner. A shopping center closed for the evening was bombed, leaving neighborhoods fearful of the next step of the domestic terrorist. The movie industry began creating domestic terrorism spots that could be shown on television to appear as if the terrorist were on the move and as if no American was safe from these domestic terrorists. The liberal media referred to the domestic terrorists to be akin to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) of the eighties. The media made sure that the general public recognized that no one was safe from the potential harm by these domestic terrorists. Every news story referenced "domestic terrorism," and the ruling elite were thrilled at their victory.

The president, in a second closed-door session of Congress, announced that our country was at war with the domestic terrorists. The president used the news media as his tool to inform Americans that they were in constant danger from the domestic terrorists, but he had a plan to put a stop to this unlawful conduct. The president urged citizens to report their neighbors, friends, and others that they came across that appeared to be engaged in terrorist activities. The president then announced that, as commander in chief, he was considering martial law and curfews to stop the terrorist from doing more harm.

The next morning, the president put commanders of the various military branches on notice of his intention to invoke martial law and engage the military to occupy all states and put an end to the domestic terrorism. The president became outraged when his military commanders refused to follow the president's order, claiming the order to be unlawful and in violation of the Constitution. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff argued that America has over three hundred twenty million citizens and not all of them could be engaged in domestic terrorism. The commanders refused to engage the military of the United States against its citizens. Domestic terrorism is a police matter, and the military would never be used against Americans while under their watch. The president backed off on the threat of martial law. In a speech before Congress, the president stated that Americans were waking up to the Constitution and their individual rights and that meant trouble for all in government.

Martial Law

The president and both houses of Congress met secretly over the next few weeks and explored alternatives to martial law. The president explained to the Congress that his military commanders, and even his joint chiefs of staff, had refused to obey his lawful orders and changes needed to be made, albeit slowly so that the changes were imperceptible to the American people and even some conservative media sources.

The president, touting his role as commander in chief, announced that he would be closing numerous military bases, consolidating others, and reducing the military leadership for cost-saving purposes. The president made sure that Americans knew that the majority of Congress approved the plan. The president notified select military commanders, including his joint chiefs of staff, that they were no longer needed and were given the option to retire or be discharged. As the high-ranking military officers accepted retirement, the president appointed new command general officers who shared the president's obscured vision for America. Both houses of Congress, sans the Tea Party and about one hundred true conservative members of Congress, rubber-stamped the new military commander's appointments and assumed control of each branch of the military. The new command generals then began to quietly replace their command staff officers to make sure that subordinate officers would follow their orders without question.

The president asked the new commanders how they knew that their command staff officers would be loyal to them and to the president. When there was no guarantee, the president signed an executive order mandating that command staff officers take polygraph tests to determine their unconditional loyalty. The president went on the television and explained to the American people that our military had been compromised by domestic terrorists, and it became necessary to verify the loyalty of the staff officers. All staff officers above the rank of captain would be given a polygraph test. Behind doors, the president announced that the commanders could use the polygraph test as justification to remove officers who believed in the Constitution more than his orders. Over the next three months, most of the staff officers were in place and loyal to the president's agenda. The president ordered secrecy and said, "This is no time for that crap called transparency in government."