The constitution of the Weimar Republic (which lasted from 1918 to 1933 in Germany) guaranteed rights to its citizens similar to our constitution, in some cases surpassing them. Sadly, when Hitler invoked emergency powers after the burning of the Reichstag, all of these rights were suspended and Germany became a totalitarian state. It is interesting to note that the Weimar Constitution technically remained in place until the end of WW2 even though the rights guaranteed in it were not in effect. Thus far Trump has declared several emergencies allowing him to circumvent Congress, thereby subverting the system of checks and balances that our government is based on. This is in part why the Economist magazine has rated the US as a flawed democracy since 2016.
You’re exactly right to bring up the Weimar Republic. It’s a sobering example of what happens when a constitution becomes a decorative document, technically in force, but practically ignored.
What stood out to me in your comment is the reminder that rights only matter when they’re inconvenient. Every authoritarian regime in modern history had a “constitution” on paper. What they lacked was a culture, and a government, committed to restraining its own power when it feels justified in using it.
That’s why I wrote the piece. It’s not about immigration as much as it is about discipline. Constitutional discipline. The kind that doesn’t vanish the moment fear becomes a campaign strategy or due process feels inefficient.
I don’t care if the threat comes from the left or the right, when we normalize power without restraint, we invite exactly the kind of erosion you described. It doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one “emergency” at a time.
Oh BTW, here is from Federalist 2, “As a nation we have made peace and war; as a nation we have vanquished our common enemies.” We are doing just that as we send unvetted foreign invaders back to their respective countries.
Yes, Federalist No. 2. Jay’s argument for national unity and why the states should ratify the Constitution. He talked about shared culture among the states, not a mandate for cultural stasis or a closed border. And “foreign force and influence” meant foreign governments meddling in our affairs, not desperate families crossing a river.
I’ve read it. You should too. It’s short.
And if you’re going to invoke the Founders, here’s Jefferson: “America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions.”
CJ, and how many states were there in 1787? When did the Bill of Rights become ratified? How about 1791, several years later. The Constitution is only complete when we add the Bill of Rights. The Federalist Papers are not significant to this discussion though individuals who have no real argument like to try to baffle us with 🐂💩. It is non-sequitur.
So you don’t see drug cartels as a foreign force?? Are you aware of how the CCP and Mexican drug cartels works together destroying the lives of Americans? In one year alone, 2022, there were 273,654 deaths by fentanyl. We can compare that single year to the approximately 58,000 who died in the Vietnam War. That war was 19 years our young American military draftees fought. How about a little math after reading Federalist 2? Biden’s open borders caused 273,654/365 days a year=750 deaths each day in the single year of open borders. I didn’t even add in the extra murders, perpetrated by illegals preying on Americans. Here is some MSM background you might want to add to your reading list. https://apnews.com/article/sinaloa-cartel-fentanyl-mexico-china-los-angeles-034ad51dd03d0606767215b44aed2e91
Your concerns have merit but you laying blame on one party is short-sighted and far from complete. Both the Republicans AND Democrats have been using immigration as an election tool since before I was born. It wasn't until the 50s that we as a people even cared that Mexicans came up undocumented...our southern border was completely open. I'm not advocating for that but I am pointing out that the underlying issue is far more complex than saying, "Cartel Enemy = deport all Hispanics."
Our immigration system is completely broken much like our education system is also broken (maybe most of our systems are broken?)
How do you propose we wage war upon an enemy we cannot identify simply by looking at them?
You are completely wrong about the Federalist Papers not being relevant. The arguments for and against how freedom (and rights) is fostered or abused by government (and by extension society) will always be relevant as long as we have a government to participate in.
Americans who want to immigrate to Mexico have many fences to hurdle. One of them is economic solvency. “Most temporary or permanent visas for Mexico require applicants to show they have enough financial resources to pay for their stay.
There are two ways to meet this requirement: by showing proof of a minimum monthly income or a minimum savings account balance over an extended period. In both cases, your income must be documented with six to 12 months of bank statements.
Depending on the visa, you may need to prove that you have at least 5,000 times the Mexican minimum wage in savings or that you earn a monthly income equivalent to at least 300 days of the Mexican minimum wage. For context, the Mexican minimum wage will be 279 pesos (US$13.75) starting in January 2025.” When illegal immigrants cross our border, are we checking them for economic solvency??
Cyrus, initially my desire was to respond to your continuing articulation of a Constitutional vision for America that has never been fulfilled. And ask how it can be fulfilled. Then, I read the reader comments below, and my question was answered. With this much hate and racism and lack of feeling of a shared humanity with our other Earth cohabitants, it can’t be.
It’s hard to talk about shared humanity when so much of the public square feels like a contest to see who can dehumanize faster. But here’s where I land: the ugliness you see in the comments isn’t why we give up, it’s why the Constitution matters in the first place. It’s not a reward for good behavior. It’s a safeguard for when we’re at our worst. And right now, we’re giving it a stress test. Can the vision be fulfilled? I don’t know. But I do know it won’t be if we stop insisting on it. Grateful you’re reading and wrestling with it.
You are missing the most important point as usual. The point CJ, your argument ignores is that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 with its citizenship wording reads: “…all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States...” Congress intentionally used the term “not subject to any foreign power.”Invaders and illegal aliens are deemed to have unacceptable loyalty. But, as usual, you are deserving of another tongue lashing. As a tooth mechanic you can cover up by wearing a mask, but not here on Substack. You are about as conservative as a GOP Gavin Newsom, but that is your point. You are doing your part to change your district to a Mecca for people wanting to escape from CA to buy a cheap Rancho and hire illegals. 40 acres and a pool. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kbW4mrzTwtw
I don't believe our founders thought we'd have a president who would encourage illegal immigrants to stroll across our borders by the thousands on any given day. Our current President can't process thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants in some sort of organized multi-year fashion. It's an impossible task willingly put upon POTUS and legal citizens by 4 years of Biden's unrestrained insanity. So instead of a constitutional lesson maybe you can come up with a quick and "humane" way to undo what Biden did.
Do our ICE agents deserve this? They have to hide their faces in public because Democrats are doxxing them and putting their lives at risk. Cartel killers are murdering them. Do you want more of this so illegal aliens can mow your lawns at cheaper rates? https://www.amny.com/news/adams-violent-migrant-border-patrol-agent-shooting/
You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. But won’t be under a Democrat administration. And of course you have a right to be INFORMED of those rights by anyone if by some chance you are actually being detained thanks to new Oregon legislation that was voted for by guess who?
You have right to an attorney and if you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you at the expense of the people whose country you broke into illegally. Even though there are literally MILLIONS and MILLIONS of you.
Should you be deported you have a right to sneak back in over and over.
If you make it to New York you have a right to be arrested many times and released AND you have a right to acquire a firearm that American citizens in New York are not allowed to have and shoot a Border Patrol agent in Central Park.
You have a right to start a business that employs other people who came into the country illegally and profit off your crime and if you are a beloved Yamhill County vineyard operator who violated the law for decades you have the right to have a fawning article written about you in the New York Times by a wealthy vineyard owner who maybe just relies on cheap labor.
You have a right to be defended by paragons of virtue like Hunter Biden who reminded us, in between obscenities, that we really need illegals around to mow our grass and clean our hotel rooms.
But most of all, you have a right to laugh like hell at all the schmucks who played by the rules and obeyed the law and waited in line to enter the country lawfully like Americans are expected to do in THEIR countries. Because THOSE people are suckers.
Kevin, I get that you’re angry, and there’s plenty to be frustrated with. The immigration system is broken. Border policy is inconsistent. And too many politicians have treated it as a rhetorical football instead of a real issue.
But here’s the line I won’t cross: throwing out due process or constitutional protections because we’re fed up. The moment we start deciding who deserves rights based on headlines or emotions, we stop being a republic.
We need enforcement. We also need the rule of law. It’s not either/or. It’s both. Or we lose the very thing we’re trying to protect.
In know the 14th amendment because Oregon courts violated it against me..I am a 5th generation pioneer. My family came late 1860s in a wagon train..having come to America from.Scotland in the 1600s.
Much of what you read about our forefathers was all citizens. I did not see the word person, but those born or naturalized here, those who qualified for citizenship.
Illegals who came in undocumented and especially criminals not even through legal border crossing spots do not qualify.
There would not be a fuss if we didn't have paid rioters operating in Oregon..in their spare time they probably are the ARSONISTS multiplying fires all over eastern Oregon and Washington right now. My thoughts is a lot more punishment needs dealt out to all.these rioters who illegally tear up our state. DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW?
It is not my job to sort out the criminal illegals from others. But I put far more confidence in the Trump administration to remove criminals and so work on other illegal issues that require more process. But bottom line no illegals are guaranteed to stay. Don't tell me certain organizations haven't made a living off federal funds filing paperwork for illegals. I attended a class and heard all about it.
While they received millions a year in free everything a white single parent of even lower income received no help.
You did not mention that your illegals traffic children as sex and labor traffic..We have camps in our state. What about those innocent kids?.
There is a Spirit of Error..when we have moved to a position to justify our own truth..not God's truth. Not even our countries. No country in the world allows anyone in without documentation and the right to say no. It's time to stop justifying the left..the Bible clearly says that every person must CHOOSE WHO THEY SERVE.
This is a far left Soros funded crisis to add millions to vote Democrat and to cause massive upheaval nation wide. I'm for some law and order. Arsonists should be severely punished. When they burn homes and livestock big game and permanently harm citizens they should get life in prison.
Biden created this mess..not the current administration..
I appreciate how you wrote this about the Constitution. I am an ardent Constitutionalist-enough so that I struggle with true disgust for both of our parties. Since I have had the ability to vote (over 20 years) I have felt like both parties mostly just argued over how to use and abuse the Constitution rather than actually upholding it. This is one reason every election cycle we are told the world will end if the other party's candidate wins-power will be abused, but that is power that BOTH parties have agreed to use when each was in control. At heart I am a libertarian and wish the Federal Government would shutter 80-90% of it's departments and 99% of its bureaucracies.
I appreciate you bringing up benefits vs rights. I truly believe that most Americans do not know the difference thanks at least in part to politicians and a lack in education. I disagree with the judge who ruled against Texas in your article and essentially called education a right. I disagree with those who say housing or medical care is a right. whether I'm right or wrong we as a people do need to understand and agree that unalienable rights do exist for all people and at least here in the US we will expect all governments (City, County, State & Federal) to respect them.
The reason we have due process is to force the government to prove what it is doing is justified. When we round up people based on their skin color or tattoos, we are acting on unproven assumptions. The purpose of due process is to sort out the truth before condemning anyone to state violence.
The constitution of the Weimar Republic (which lasted from 1918 to 1933 in Germany) guaranteed rights to its citizens similar to our constitution, in some cases surpassing them. Sadly, when Hitler invoked emergency powers after the burning of the Reichstag, all of these rights were suspended and Germany became a totalitarian state. It is interesting to note that the Weimar Constitution technically remained in place until the end of WW2 even though the rights guaranteed in it were not in effect. Thus far Trump has declared several emergencies allowing him to circumvent Congress, thereby subverting the system of checks and balances that our government is based on. This is in part why the Economist magazine has rated the US as a flawed democracy since 2016.
You’re exactly right to bring up the Weimar Republic. It’s a sobering example of what happens when a constitution becomes a decorative document, technically in force, but practically ignored.
What stood out to me in your comment is the reminder that rights only matter when they’re inconvenient. Every authoritarian regime in modern history had a “constitution” on paper. What they lacked was a culture, and a government, committed to restraining its own power when it feels justified in using it.
That’s why I wrote the piece. It’s not about immigration as much as it is about discipline. Constitutional discipline. The kind that doesn’t vanish the moment fear becomes a campaign strategy or due process feels inefficient.
I don’t care if the threat comes from the left or the right, when we normalize power without restraint, we invite exactly the kind of erosion you described. It doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one “emergency” at a time.
Thanks for raising the parallel.
Thank you Cyrus for this reminder that our Constitution is the basis of our policies. Or should be.
I didn't vote for you last time but I will next time because you are actually representing my values, not my party.
Of course you would Susan. You are a Democrat.
Your posts are beginning to read like a remake of the Federalist Papers, only less stuffy and even more quotable. Well argued and well written!
Honestly, I carry a copy of the Federalist Papers in my bag. Right next to the ibuprofen and optimism. It's my version of emotional support reading.
Oh BTW, here is from Federalist 2, “As a nation we have made peace and war; as a nation we have vanquished our common enemies.” We are doing just that as we send unvetted foreign invaders back to their respective countries.
Are you referring to Federalist 2 concerning foreign force and influence? I think you haven’t got a clue.
Yes, Federalist No. 2. Jay’s argument for national unity and why the states should ratify the Constitution. He talked about shared culture among the states, not a mandate for cultural stasis or a closed border. And “foreign force and influence” meant foreign governments meddling in our affairs, not desperate families crossing a river.
I’ve read it. You should too. It’s short.
And if you’re going to invoke the Founders, here’s Jefferson: “America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions.”
Do the “oppressed and persecuted” include drug cartels?
CJ, and how many states were there in 1787? When did the Bill of Rights become ratified? How about 1791, several years later. The Constitution is only complete when we add the Bill of Rights. The Federalist Papers are not significant to this discussion though individuals who have no real argument like to try to baffle us with 🐂💩. It is non-sequitur.
So you don’t see drug cartels as a foreign force?? Are you aware of how the CCP and Mexican drug cartels works together destroying the lives of Americans? In one year alone, 2022, there were 273,654 deaths by fentanyl. We can compare that single year to the approximately 58,000 who died in the Vietnam War. That war was 19 years our young American military draftees fought. How about a little math after reading Federalist 2? Biden’s open borders caused 273,654/365 days a year=750 deaths each day in the single year of open borders. I didn’t even add in the extra murders, perpetrated by illegals preying on Americans. Here is some MSM background you might want to add to your reading list. https://apnews.com/article/sinaloa-cartel-fentanyl-mexico-china-los-angeles-034ad51dd03d0606767215b44aed2e91
Your concerns have merit but you laying blame on one party is short-sighted and far from complete. Both the Republicans AND Democrats have been using immigration as an election tool since before I was born. It wasn't until the 50s that we as a people even cared that Mexicans came up undocumented...our southern border was completely open. I'm not advocating for that but I am pointing out that the underlying issue is far more complex than saying, "Cartel Enemy = deport all Hispanics."
Our immigration system is completely broken much like our education system is also broken (maybe most of our systems are broken?)
How do you propose we wage war upon an enemy we cannot identify simply by looking at them?
You are completely wrong about the Federalist Papers not being relevant. The arguments for and against how freedom (and rights) is fostered or abused by government (and by extension society) will always be relevant as long as we have a government to participate in.
Americans who want to immigrate to Mexico have many fences to hurdle. One of them is economic solvency. “Most temporary or permanent visas for Mexico require applicants to show they have enough financial resources to pay for their stay.
There are two ways to meet this requirement: by showing proof of a minimum monthly income or a minimum savings account balance over an extended period. In both cases, your income must be documented with six to 12 months of bank statements.
Depending on the visa, you may need to prove that you have at least 5,000 times the Mexican minimum wage in savings or that you earn a monthly income equivalent to at least 300 days of the Mexican minimum wage. For context, the Mexican minimum wage will be 279 pesos (US$13.75) starting in January 2025.” When illegal immigrants cross our border, are we checking them for economic solvency??
Good to be reminded what the Constitution stands for and the importance of due process.
Bravo, Cyrus! Well said.
Excellent piece! We need more people like you serving in government. Thank you!
Cyrus, initially my desire was to respond to your continuing articulation of a Constitutional vision for America that has never been fulfilled. And ask how it can be fulfilled. Then, I read the reader comments below, and my question was answered. With this much hate and racism and lack of feeling of a shared humanity with our other Earth cohabitants, it can’t be.
It’s hard to talk about shared humanity when so much of the public square feels like a contest to see who can dehumanize faster. But here’s where I land: the ugliness you see in the comments isn’t why we give up, it’s why the Constitution matters in the first place. It’s not a reward for good behavior. It’s a safeguard for when we’re at our worst. And right now, we’re giving it a stress test. Can the vision be fulfilled? I don’t know. But I do know it won’t be if we stop insisting on it. Grateful you’re reading and wrestling with it.
thank you for this
You are missing the most important point as usual. The point CJ, your argument ignores is that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 with its citizenship wording reads: “…all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States...” Congress intentionally used the term “not subject to any foreign power.”Invaders and illegal aliens are deemed to have unacceptable loyalty. But, as usual, you are deserving of another tongue lashing. As a tooth mechanic you can cover up by wearing a mask, but not here on Substack. You are about as conservative as a GOP Gavin Newsom, but that is your point. You are doing your part to change your district to a Mecca for people wanting to escape from CA to buy a cheap Rancho and hire illegals. 40 acres and a pool. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kbW4mrzTwtw
The song is great. Reminds me of "Green Acres"....is the place to be. 😅
I don't believe our founders thought we'd have a president who would encourage illegal immigrants to stroll across our borders by the thousands on any given day. Our current President can't process thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants in some sort of organized multi-year fashion. It's an impossible task willingly put upon POTUS and legal citizens by 4 years of Biden's unrestrained insanity. So instead of a constitutional lesson maybe you can come up with a quick and "humane" way to undo what Biden did.
Do our ICE agents deserve this? They have to hide their faces in public because Democrats are doxxing them and putting their lives at risk. Cartel killers are murdering them. Do you want more of this so illegal aliens can mow your lawns at cheaper rates? https://www.amny.com/news/adams-violent-migrant-border-patrol-agent-shooting/
You've lost all credibility.
DUE PROCESS
You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. But won’t be under a Democrat administration. And of course you have a right to be INFORMED of those rights by anyone if by some chance you are actually being detained thanks to new Oregon legislation that was voted for by guess who?
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/SB1191
You have right to an attorney and if you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you at the expense of the people whose country you broke into illegally. Even though there are literally MILLIONS and MILLIONS of you.
Should you be deported you have a right to sneak back in over and over.
If you make it to New York you have a right to be arrested many times and released AND you have a right to acquire a firearm that American citizens in New York are not allowed to have and shoot a Border Patrol agent in Central Park.
You have a right to start a business that employs other people who came into the country illegally and profit off your crime and if you are a beloved Yamhill County vineyard operator who violated the law for decades you have the right to have a fawning article written about you in the New York Times by a wealthy vineyard owner who maybe just relies on cheap labor.
You have a right to be defended by paragons of virtue like Hunter Biden who reminded us, in between obscenities, that we really need illegals around to mow our grass and clean our hotel rooms.
But most of all, you have a right to laugh like hell at all the schmucks who played by the rules and obeyed the law and waited in line to enter the country lawfully like Americans are expected to do in THEIR countries. Because THOSE people are suckers.
Kevin, I get that you’re angry, and there’s plenty to be frustrated with. The immigration system is broken. Border policy is inconsistent. And too many politicians have treated it as a rhetorical football instead of a real issue.
But here’s the line I won’t cross: throwing out due process or constitutional protections because we’re fed up. The moment we start deciding who deserves rights based on headlines or emotions, we stop being a republic.
We need enforcement. We also need the rule of law. It’s not either/or. It’s both. Or we lose the very thing we’re trying to protect.
Excellent reply.
In know the 14th amendment because Oregon courts violated it against me..I am a 5th generation pioneer. My family came late 1860s in a wagon train..having come to America from.Scotland in the 1600s.
Much of what you read about our forefathers was all citizens. I did not see the word person, but those born or naturalized here, those who qualified for citizenship.
Illegals who came in undocumented and especially criminals not even through legal border crossing spots do not qualify.
There would not be a fuss if we didn't have paid rioters operating in Oregon..in their spare time they probably are the ARSONISTS multiplying fires all over eastern Oregon and Washington right now. My thoughts is a lot more punishment needs dealt out to all.these rioters who illegally tear up our state. DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW?
It is not my job to sort out the criminal illegals from others. But I put far more confidence in the Trump administration to remove criminals and so work on other illegal issues that require more process. But bottom line no illegals are guaranteed to stay. Don't tell me certain organizations haven't made a living off federal funds filing paperwork for illegals. I attended a class and heard all about it.
While they received millions a year in free everything a white single parent of even lower income received no help.
You did not mention that your illegals traffic children as sex and labor traffic..We have camps in our state. What about those innocent kids?.
There is a Spirit of Error..when we have moved to a position to justify our own truth..not God's truth. Not even our countries. No country in the world allows anyone in without documentation and the right to say no. It's time to stop justifying the left..the Bible clearly says that every person must CHOOSE WHO THEY SERVE.
This is a far left Soros funded crisis to add millions to vote Democrat and to cause massive upheaval nation wide. I'm for some law and order. Arsonists should be severely punished. When they burn homes and livestock big game and permanently harm citizens they should get life in prison.
Biden created this mess..not the current administration..
I appreciate how you wrote this about the Constitution. I am an ardent Constitutionalist-enough so that I struggle with true disgust for both of our parties. Since I have had the ability to vote (over 20 years) I have felt like both parties mostly just argued over how to use and abuse the Constitution rather than actually upholding it. This is one reason every election cycle we are told the world will end if the other party's candidate wins-power will be abused, but that is power that BOTH parties have agreed to use when each was in control. At heart I am a libertarian and wish the Federal Government would shutter 80-90% of it's departments and 99% of its bureaucracies.
I appreciate you bringing up benefits vs rights. I truly believe that most Americans do not know the difference thanks at least in part to politicians and a lack in education. I disagree with the judge who ruled against Texas in your article and essentially called education a right. I disagree with those who say housing or medical care is a right. whether I'm right or wrong we as a people do need to understand and agree that unalienable rights do exist for all people and at least here in the US we will expect all governments (City, County, State & Federal) to respect them.
The reason we have due process is to force the government to prove what it is doing is justified. When we round up people based on their skin color or tattoos, we are acting on unproven assumptions. The purpose of due process is to sort out the truth before condemning anyone to state violence.