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Individual Sovereignty
The idea that the individual is sovereign over his or her body is the cornerstone of liberty. Sovereign means "above all", therefore if someone is sovereign over you, you cannot be a free person. Rather, you are a subject or a slave. In a free society, instead of a monarch ruling over the people, each person is a body of self-government. Each person is the king or queen of their being, free to conduct their lives in any way they see fit for their own benefit and happiness. By labor, each person also brings into existence value or property, over which they are also sovereign, since it was their labor that created the property. They have invested themselves in the creation. When Jefferson wrote that all have an unalienable right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, he was reflecting a common theme of the times. The more common phrase was life, liberty, and property. We are each sovereign over our beings and any property that we honorably obtain. Any breach of this sovereignty is immoral.
Along with this liberty comes the responsibility NOT to encroach upon the lives and property of all other individuals, who have equal rights and responsibilities.
The purpose of government, as Jefferson so eloquently stated, is to secure the rights of each individual. Today, people in government have forgotten who is the sovereign. The people are sovereign, not collectively, but individually. No liberty can exist otherwise. A Constitution should only be a tool to protect individual rights. The Constitution creates the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, which in turn create and execute statutory laws. Those laws CANNOT attempt to do things which the Sovereign (the individual person), could not do on their own. As John Locke stated, "The people cannot delegate to government the power to do anything which would be unlawful for them to do themselves". We must make government the servant of the sovereign people, rather than allowing it to continue to masquerade as the master.State Sovereignty
State Sovereignty is a concept that has been under siege for over a century. As designed, the United States of America is a Federation of a number of different independent states which join themselves together for their common defense. The federal government that the states created with the Constitution has become more powerful with each successive administration. It is now a common misconception that Federal law trumps State law. In reality, this only occurs when a state law infringes upon an individual’s unalienable rights or with certain specific powers that the states voluntarily ceded to the Federal Government via the Constitution.
Individual Sovereignty is the highest authority. Each person is the king or queen of their being, free to conduct their lives in any way they see fit for their own benefit and happiness, provided that their action does not obstruct the rights of others. Immediately subordinate to Individual Sovereignty is the authority of the people as a group, with the smaller groups having the higher authority. The Tennessee State Constitution reveals this in Article I, Section 1 when it states "all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority." A County Government is closer to the people, and therefore a higher authority than State Government. A recent Federal Court ruling states that a county sheriff "has law enforcement powers EXCEEDING that of any other state OR federal official."
The people created the states, which created the Constitution, which created the Federal legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Those offices create statutes and administrators. Yet today, administrators, who are at the bottom of the pecking order, often rule over the people, who are at the top. The Federal system has been inverted in practice, though not legally.
The Federal Constitution is a restricting document. It specifically tells the Federal Government what it can do, and if something is not listed among the powers granted by the states to the Federal Government, the Federal Government has no authority to do it. Most in Congress today believe that this is an antiquated idea, that the Congress has full reign to do most anything it thinks it should do. But the Tenth Amendment reminds us that this is not true. It states very succinctly that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." If this is not upheld, then we no longer have a government of the people.
States must reassert their sovereignty over the Federal government, and each member of the Federal government must reaffirm that they will uphold their oath of office. We must listen to the wisdom of the founders:
"Each State, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act. In this relation, then, the new Constitution will, if established, be a FEDERAL, and not a NATIONAL constitution. " - James Madison National Sovereignty
National Sovereignty is necessary in order for the people of the United States, both individually and collectively, to maintain their liberty. The purpose of government, and the ONLY purpose of government, is to secure the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of the people. The Constitution of the United States was created for that purpose only, and grants government officials only specifically limited powers. One of those powers is to make treaties with other nations, but those treaties must be made "under the authority of the United States." Just like statutory laws, treaties that infringe on the unalienable rights of the people, or that are inconsistent with other Constitutional restrictions, are null and void.
While international good will and cooperation is desirable and a benefit to all people, any agreements made must be in accordance with the preservation of the people’s rights. Our policy should be as Jefferson advised, friends and trading partners with all nations, entangling alliances with none.
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