We, the people of the earth, in order to create a peaceful world, encourage the unity of all humanity, promote the general health, welfare, and security, enhance the achievement of freedom, and provide an environment for the development of the human spirit, for ourselves and our posterity, do establish this Constitution for the Confederation of Free States and the People of the Earth.
Article One
Section 1 Whereas the justification for this Constitution and the government it forms is to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, individual liberty and security for all human beings, the specific unalienable rights of the people are enumerated. The rights secured in this article apply to any level of government, including Federal, State, or Local.
The specific enumeration of rights is paramount to maintaining individual freedom. Rights can be divided into two groups, those that have been, in the words of Jefferson, "endowed by [the] creator", and those that are agreed to among humanity as a social compact.
Among the first group, endowed by the creator, (meaning natural rights which cannot be diminished), are life itself, freedom of mind and belief, sovereignty over one’s own body, and equality. (Equality here means that no one has sovereignty over another. Individual humans are unique, and therefore are unequal by definition. but all humans have equal rights). These are universal in scope because they can exist without causing any detriment to others. We can call these universal rights. Mankind should never attempt to subvert universal rights.
Among the second group are those which, once agreed upon, can serve to create a harmonious environment in which mankind can realize its greatest potential. Among these are property rights, and rights dealing with human behavior. These should only be restricted when necessary, but from time to time it will be necessary because they can overlap each other. Therefore, they are not universal, but relative rights.
Section 2 The individual human being is sovereign over his or her body. No law shall ever be passed to require, allow, or prevent the internalization into the body of any substance, thing, material, or energy without the determination of the individual, including but not limited to, laws with respect to the administration of criminal justice, or of a medical nature, or of a religious nature.
Sovereignty over one’s own body is a universal right. In criminal justice, medical practice, social acceptance, or any other arena, the individual’s sovereignty over his or her body must be upheld. We may cringe at drug use, or snake handling, or the refusal of certain medical treatments, but respect for sovereignty over the body must be upheld, because society did not create individuals, individuals created society. When individual rights are denied for any reason other than to protect other individuals, it is only a matter of time until preserving society becomes more important than preserving the individual.
Government regulation of so called vices also subvert freedom, and for the most part are ineffective anyway. In its effort to control drug use, laws and enforcement has merely created an underground black market, stimulating the drug economy by artificially inflating prices and thereby creating "pushers" by making the trade immensely profitable. Much higher costs create more crime and violence. Simple users find themselves in prison for victimless crimes. Despite all of this, drug use is rampant in a society desperately searching for meaning in their lives and liberation. Banning of books or guns would have similar results. Simply put, unless there is a victim whose sovereignty has been compromised, government should refrain from interference with commerce between mutually consenting adults.
Although the individual has the right to internalize into their own body any substance, that does not mean that in situations in which they have been incarcerated for serious crimes that they must be provided with that substance.
Section 3 The individual human being is sovereign over his or her mind. Government shall make no law, nor shall require any deed, with respect to religion; neither to require or prevent the exercise thereof by free consent provided that the sovereignty of other individuals is not compromised. No test of time or commonality shall be required in determining what constitutes religious practice. No law respecting the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in the cases of libel, slander, or fraud, shall ever be passed; and the only laws passed in respect to slander or libel shall be to make restitution to the injured party. Government shall make no law respecting an official establishment of language, or of the use or prevention thereof. The right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for grievances, shall not be abridged. Petitions for grievances shall always be heard by a jury of 24 non-government peers, and no judiciary shall overrule their verdict. The rights of individuals shall not be infringed because of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age (except as otherwise noted in this Constitution), or any other reason other than the conviction of a serious crime. Government shall make no law requiring adherence to or licensing of any theory, principle, philosophy, or dogma, either of a scientific, religious, or social nature. The individual's right to determine their own medical treatment, no matter what the source, shall not be infringed.
Once government has been established, whether by a single ruler or by the people, natural forces create a tendency for that government to increase the amount of control it has over the people, and eventually this will extend to an attempt to control their minds. The institution of government almost takes on a life of its own, with the goal of conserving and perpetuating itself. This creates a tendency for enlightened, progressive, or creative thinking to be impeded, and at extremes, causes the persecution of individuals with views different from the establishment. History is full of examples, such as Galileo. Such a tendency by government must be restrained if society is to remain flexible and adaptable, and thereby avoid eventual violent conflict. Freedom of mind, including religion, scientific viewpoints, and philosophy is a universal right.
Section 4 The individual human being is sovereign over his or her behavior, to the extent that it does not compromise the sovereignty of other individuals, or their rights. No law shall be passed to inhibit or require the actions of an individual except that it compromises the natural rights of other individuals.
Rights related to behavior are relative rights, but the only justification for inhibiting them is that they are in conflict with another"s rights. If there is no victim, there can be no crime. Since the individual is sovereign, he cannot be a victim of himself.
Section 5 In laws respecting criminal or civil behavior, no laws shall be enacted to deprive individuals of liberty except for the commission of serious crimes, defined as murder, theft, assault, robbery, rape, kidnapping, reckless endangerment, perjury or fraud. No individual can be deprived of liberty due to the owing of a debt, regardless of how the debt was incurred.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, vehicles, communication devices, and effects, against searches and seizures, shall not be violated except by the witnessing of the actual commission of a serious crime, or by warrants issued upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a serious crime unless by an indictment of a Grand Jury. No person shall be subject to prosecution more than once for the same offense, nor compelled to testify as a witness against themselves, nor deprived of liberty or property without due process of law.
No person shall be held to answer for a crime which has not been encoded in a federal or state statute. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of twelve of the citizens of the state where the crime shall have been committed. The accused shall have the right to be informed of the nature of the accusations, the right to learned counsel, and the right to be confronted with the witnesses against them, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in their favor. Jury decisions shall be unanimous.
Upon conviction, punishment shall be only for the purpose of restitution to the victims, or the prevention of reoccurrence, or the treatment and enlightenment of the convicted. In no case shall punishment be in the form of cruelty, torture, or loss of life or limb.
Rights of the accused are among the most important in society, because they lend themselves to the most abuse. When we have been personally wronged it is very difficult to maintain a universal perspective, but the more we are able to do so, the more likely we will be to prevent reoccurrences and the erosion of society. Individual rights can never be devalued for the sake of society as a whole. Society is merely a product of the individuals that populate it, and if one individual is compromised, the whole society is weakened and must eventually also be compromised. It is better to strengthen and heal a weak link in a foundation, rather than to remove it and thus put more stress on those strong links around it.
A healthy, harmonious, peaceful environment, whether it be a home or a prison, creates harmonious people; a sick, chaotic, violent, stressful environment, whether it be a home or a prison, creates chaotic people. We should choose the former. Torture, cruelty, and capital punishment violate universal rights, and should never be chosen. They are also counter productive. When we begin to see individuals who have committed crimes as people who need our help, rather than as creatures to be punished and to absorb our unvented anger and frustration, then society will be strengthened in the long term.
A prison consisting of a farm for labor, grains and vegetables for diet, and a library for education, will create the self-supporting, peaceful, responsible individual that society requires. Physical abuse, meaningless labor, meat and sugar, drugs and television, will create violent, dependent, unhappy, and spiritually malnourished individuals, and at a much higher cost, both in terms of money and antisocial behavior.
Section 6 In all civil litigations involving more than the value of one ounce of gold, the parties shall have a right to a trial by jury. Rules of the court cannot override this right for any reason at any time. The jury may award compensatory awards in all cases, and punitive awards in cases involving corporations. Government may not put any restrictions upon the findings of a jury. The jury may award costs and damages against plaintiffs in the event of groundless or malicious actions.
In all criminal and civil litigations, the jury shall have the responsibility to judge both the facts and the law.
Section 7 The right of the individual human being to own property shall not be infringed, except if such property, by its very existence or without human action, causes the loss of sovereignty of other individuals; or if property be held in such a way as to create a monopoly or control of a given commodity. Private property shall not be taken from an individual for public use without just compensation. Private property cannot be taken from a private individual and given to another private entity, even for public use.
Property ownership is a human invention. It was necessary to invent ownership when we began to invent "things", like a wheel. This can serve either for mankind’s advancement if used prudently or to its detriment if ownership becomes an objective rather than a tool. Societies are never stagnant, always in a state of change. Ownership can make change efficient by spurring creativity, increasing productivity, and raising the standard of living for all of society. However, at its extreme, when a necessary commodity, such as land, becomes scarce, it can polarize a society to a point where change is not harmonious but violent, resulting in revolution. Property rights should therefore be protected, but recognized as a relative right, and should not be infringed for light and transient reasons.
Because of ownership and property rights, it is possible for part of humanity to become removed from access to the necessities of life, because those necessities are not infinite. Other species without property rights always have access to natural resources. No squirrel suffers for lack of food unless there is famine and then all squirrels suffer similarly. Because mankind has developed intellectually, but spiritual development has lagged behind, (quite naturally), there can be a great disparity in access. Property rights should not be suspended to erase any and all disparities, though human spiritual development could automatically and freely do so. But in the case of the loss of access to provide the basics of life, the universal right of life supersedes the relative right of property.
Section 8 Neither slavery nor servitude, whether it be voluntary or involuntary, shall exist in the Confederation of Free States. Service in the armed forces or other agencies of the Confederation of Free States shall be voluntary.
Involuntary servitude is a violation of universal rights. It has been argued that conscription is necessary in order to defend a nation, but for a government or system to be worthy of being defended, it must be loved and admired. If it is so loved and admired, it will be voluntarily defended whenever necessary.
Voluntary servitude is a violation of universal rights. One cannot give up their right to be free except by violating the rights of others.
Section 9 The right to bear arms in order to defend oneself shall not be infringed for any reason other than the commission and conviction of serious crimes as defined in Article 1 Section 5.
The right to defend oneself is a universal right, but it is tempered by the potential to harm those who are not exhibiting aggression. Nuclear weapons or biological weapons are instances where the mere existence of such weapons constitutes the crime of reckless endangerment.
Section 10 The right of the people to safely and responsibly move freely, in public areas, throughout the Confederation of Free States shall not be infringed. The right to buy, sell, trade and enter into legal contract shall not be infringed, neither by public or private entities. The individual shall have the right of freedom from loss of privacy. The right of individuals to the natural human endeavors of marriage, transporting oneself, obtaining food, or operating a business shall not be infringed or required to be licensed.
Freedom of movement, labor, contract, and privacy, are relative rights. They should only be restricted to the extent that they impinge on another’s sovereignty. Of course, these relative rights can become muddled as to what defines infringement. As we learn more and more about subjects such as quantum physics, it becomes apparent that the slightest activity can have an effect on otherwise seemingly unrelated events and entities. But practically speaking, there are still some ways which distinctions can be made. An example of this would be broadcasting material which would be offensive to some over the airwaves, thus creating a conflict between the freedom of speech and the right of privacy. The test in this case should be in the ability of the individual seeking privacy to prevent themselves from exposure. If they must make some effort to be exposed, subscribing to a publication or tuning in to a channel, then they must take responsibility for what comes in their way. But if exposure can occur without any effort on their part, the right of privacy should take precedence.
Also, it is important to remember here that when the rights to buy, sell, trade, contract, etc. are mentioned in this section, and all rights in every section for that matter, these are rights of the individual people, not rights of creation of government such as corporations or government agencies. No one can sell or trade rights secured by the constitution.
Section 11 The term "the people", whenever and wherever used in this Constitution, refers to the plural of the individual human being, and rights enumerated for the people in this Constitution refer only to those individual human beings, and are not extended to artificial entities, such as corporations.
Section 12 It is self-evident that humanity is supported by the natural environment that it is within, and has a reciprocal relationship with nature. Whatever one does to nature is also done to themselves. People have the right to ensure that human action does not cause the life supporting qualities of the air, water, and earth to be diminished. The proper venue for this action is the judiciary and a jury of peers, with evidence of harm presented in civil tort litigation, not the legislature.
The air, water, and earth are necessary to life, therefore access to them is a universal right. The difficulty comes in determining and agreeing upon whether or not access is being diminished. It is tempting to deem this power to the legislature, but the resulting potential abuse of power is simply too great. Therefore it must remain solely with the judiciary.
