I’m An American (Study Guide)

1)  I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the Free and Independent States of America,

2)  And to the Constitutional-Republic for which it stands – not a democracy, but
A federal form of government more closely resembling what the Founders envisioned, that is,

3)  An agreement between the Sovereign States acting together as a Union of States,

4)  Where some powers were given to a general government, which was created by the Individual Sovereign States,

5)  Where the powers for the general government are “few and defined” and explicitly stated in the United States’ Constitution, Our Country’s Supreme Law of the Land,

6)  Where these few and defined powers can only be modified by a formal amendment process involving the many States, that to do otherwise would make us a country based not on the ‘rule of law’ but a country which would more likely degrade into a capricious mob mentality,

7)  Where the People’s representatives at the local, county, Tribal, State and general government level are chosen by a democratic process, a process where a majority decision of the People is taken to elect their representatives,

8)  Where the roles of the general government are primarily limited to;
•    a) Providing defense, and controlling our borders,
•    b) Representing external relations for the Union and act as a Nation to those people outside Our County,
•    c) Taking its direction from the representatives of the Sovereign States, and not interfere or hamper in their decisions,
•    d) Helping unhamper interstate commerce and settle differences between the States, and most importantly,
•    e) Establishing a standard for money, which will help ensure honest communication between all Peoples,

9)  And as with any agreement, the ability has always existed for the States or its People to nullify overreaching acts beyond the “few and defined powers”, and if necessary, leave the compact.  Not having this ability tends to make one a slave.  Having this ability may tend to keep the Union or Compact of Sovereign States together in a more harmonious manner,

10)  And one must remember that might, does not necessarily make right,

11)  Not a perfect federal form of government, but the best yet formed by humanity – the people of many races, faiths, thoughts, cultures and human wants and desires,

12)  Where the States, having their own State Constitutions, are made of us, the People, and being more local, shall better represent us in our daily lives,

14)  Where the general government and States are given the necessary powers from the People within the States, to secure each person’s  natural rights to their life, liberty, and property, and the freedom for each person to try and achieve their own happiness – through mutual and voluntary cooperation,

15)  And each person’s role is to do no harm to each other and avoid the use of force or fraud or intrusion into the personal affairs of one another, which requires individual responsibility for one’s actions,

16)  And to do no harm as an individual it logically follows to do no harm as a member of a group of individuals, whether it be a family, community, county, Tribe, State, general government, or nation,

17)  And to aid in the communication and cooperation between individuals, and it follows commerce between the People of all nations and within the union and thus help prevent the use of force, fraud, and the mischiefs of mankind; the general government is to fix a standard of:
• First) length,
• Next) capacity or volume, and
• Finally) to fix or define the unit of the commodity to be used as money, which is a generally accepted common indirect medium of exchange between people,

18)  And it is the individual person that determines the value of an object or service in an unhampered market,

19)  And, a person’s value of the object or service is based on her or his existence and experience at that particular moment in time, and is a subjective feeling or judgment,

20)  And it follows from the experience of mankind that only a commodity that is recognized by people to be highly salable or marketable, and can be touched and measured, quality determined, and felt by people in this reality on this earth and without political influence can be called honest money,

21)  And that humanity has learned from experience that gold, or silver or precious metals of known quantity and quality are best suited to serve as honest or sound money, and although not being the most perfect medium for exchanging or transferring physical wealth or storing its value, it has been shown to have the higher redeeming quality of being more free from the mischiefs of political man, nations, banking and financial institutions,

22)  And that when a contract or agreement is made through the issuance of a piece of paper or electronic entry to represent ownership of this commodity money, great efficiency of transactions and commerce ensue; however, when issued and not completely backed (i.e., paper or fiat money; or a fractional reserve banking system, which is but a form of tricky, embezzlement and legal plunder) by an actual commodity which is an action easy for some in power to rationalize to the good, and confuse and hide from the  People and is a form of trickery or fraud; all forms of irrational decisions and misery have been shown through experience to ensue,

23)  That earned success and property ownership is much superior to that which is taken without effort, and

24)  That a respect of your neighbor’s property, the fruits of his or her labor, is essential for building cooperative relationships,

25)  And People need to continually remember that it is they who give their local, county, Tribal, State and general government these powers, and that the final barrier from tyranny is the power of the jury,

26)  Where the jury shall judge not only the facts in question but the appropriateness of the law,

27)  And this pledge is based on showing respect and loving mercy for one another, as only the human soul, a gift from Providence, appears to instinctively know,

For Liberty,

28) Paul N. Luther
An American