Food Freedom and Our Personal Rights: Upholding the Constitution

On Tuesday, August 24th I attended a key Constitutional Rights rally for raw milk on the capitol steps of Madison, Wisconsin led by Sheriff Richard Mack . Mack is a retired sheriff from Graham County, Arizona and ardent champion of the U.S. Constitution and of states and individual rights. In the mid-90’s, Mack successfully challenged the Brady bill, obtaining a United States Supreme Court ruling that prevented the federal government from imposing an unfunded mandate on the States. Today,  Sheriff Mack travels the country lecturing on the importance of constitutional vigilance.  He educates sheriffs about their ultimate authority in their counties–that their oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution forbids them from carrying out unconstitutional orders from federal and state agencies such as DATCP in Wisconsin (Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.)

Sheriff Mack described eloquently the warnings of our founding fathers who fought and died for our freedom. They knew that the correct role of government should be to protect the basic freedoms of its people and not interfere in their private lives, and that when government gets too big,  this basic role could be threatened. He said that Lady Liberty is ailing and that people today cannot be complacent and uninvolved – that this will be a grave error for our people. Many great nations have fallen by this sword.

Now just as a reminder of why our forefathers had the wisdom to write a constitution that upholds the right of every citizen to bear arms, and why Sheriff Mack worked so hard to challenge the Brady bill, I have a little gun history that may interest you.

• In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
• Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
• China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
• Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
• Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
• Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

You get the idea. Every constitutional right you have is there for a reason. Without these rights, the United States of America would not stand for freedom today. Yet, right now we are facing many challenges to these freedoms that cannot be ignored.

Our country is rooted in a rich agricultural heritage. Small family farms graced our land for hundreds of years. In the last two years, all over our nation, we have witnessed unprecedented, unethical governmental farm raids aimed at jeopardizing these small farms. Wisconsin farmer, Vernon Hershberger and his family were present at the rally and had been recent victims of these tactics that make criminals out of innocent, law abiding people.

Mack called on sheriffs and police officers who have sworn by sacred oath, to abide by the constitution–that it is their absolute duty to protect citizens from unlawful harassment. He asked–“How different would the Rosa Parks case have been if police officers had protected her personal rights, which was their constitutional responsibility?”

As our people have suffered from the far-reaching health consequences of a sixty-year experiment with industrial foods, the demand for nutrient-rich foods that heal and support health from sustainable farms is dramatically increasing. However, even as food safety and quality issues regarding mass-produced food are ever more prevalent, the industrial food system and pharmaceutical giants are trying to deal their power card. Fortunately, people are waking up and the word is getting out. The government has no business in our kitchens or dictating to our small farms–these are private affairs.

Americans intuitively understand our claim to clean water and air, and to sustainable food grown with integrity. We know that we have inalienable rights to life, liberty and security of our person. Another example of overreaching government intrusion is seen with proliferating vaccination mandates. In all states, healthy children are required to receive an unprecedented number of vaccines – 70 doses of 16 vaccines, as a requirement for daycare and school admission. This occurs in the complete absence of any public health emergency, where government has not demanded the scientific research to prove their assertions of herd immunity and the “greater good.”   Yet the government is violating our rights, as Americans and human beings, by withholding important privileges, making the choice to vaccinate no real choice at all.  Parents have always possessed the right, supported by the Constitution, to determine what is best for their own children. Will we protect these rights?

Vaccination choice and food freedom share the common foundational touchstones of health, human rights, and bodily integrity. Our communities are bringing networks and resources together to educate supporters on how our work is part and parcel of the same cause.  If we remain segregated and separate, we will be divided and picked off. The inspiration for solutions will come from integration across our groups, in the creation of a broader movement.

Have we forgotten that our country was founded on the rights of private citizens? Have you read our Constitution recently? In June, I traveled to Washington DC to testify against the “new” USDA Dietary Guidelines. During this trip, I visited the Holocaust Museum. Nazi Germany followed on the heels of a cultured, civilized and sophisticated Weimar Republic. The process unfolded slowly, almost imperceptibly. German citizens were decent, hardworking people, struggling to provide for their families, trusting their government to make the right choices for its people. As the words “Never again” ring in our ears, today we ask how it could have happened. What happens when we abandon vigilance, seek greater protections and safety in exchange for our freedom, and trust government to do the right thing?

We cannot afford complacency. The signs are all there. Be actively involved in the protection of our personal and Constitutional rights. Go to a rally, organize a rally, write letters, contact and meet with your governmental representatives–get involved. Do something. But–you have no time–right? What is the consequence of this attitude. Who will do it then?

Kathryne Pirtle

with

Louise Habakus
Life Health Choices
Center for Personal Rights and
PetitionCoalition for Vaccine Safety