So far, we have talked a lot about the “rights” of the various citizens, but what about the responsibilities and duties?  What are the obligations of being a citizen?  That’s the subject of this section.

The main responsibility of any good citizen is to enforce the laws of the federal Constitution upon our state and federal governments.  As they say:

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”

Eternal vigilance for the citizen must take many forms.  Here are a few:

1.        Obey all government laws that do not conflict with God’s laws and/or our conscience while disobeying government laws that conflict, so that:

1.1.      We don’t offend God or our moral beliefs by violating His laws.

1.2.      We don’t hurt our fellow citizens or burden our government in prosecuting or punishing us for our crimes.

2.        Taking complete and personal responsibility for defending our own life, liberty, property, and family as best that we can from encroachments by other citizens or especially the government.  This will minimize the burden on government of defending us.

3.        Taking personal responsibility for completely supporting ourselves so that we never become a burden to either the government or our fellow citizens who support the government:

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 
[1 Thess. 4:9-12, Bible, NIV]

4.        Recognizing that government is force and that force and charity are fundamentally incompatible. 

"Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is a force, like fire: a dangerous servant and a terrible master"  [George Washington]

Therefore, good citizens will:

4.1.      Vote in such a way that we elect people into public office who do not allow government to involve itself in charity or social welfare programs.

4.2.      Involve themselves in church and charitable causes, and giving to the needy, so that we don’t get so selfish that government HAS to step in and take over the job of charity that we refuse to do.

4.3.      Try to keep the tax rates down so that people have maximal control over their own labor and property.

4.4.      Refuse to pay money to the government in “taxes” that will be used to support anything but the government, because this amounts to an abuse of the tax system.  The legal definition of “taxes” demands that they may only be used to support the government, and not private citizens or private enterprises or private fortunes such as the federal reserve:

"To lay with one hand the power of government on the property of the citizen, and with the other to bestow it on favored individuals.. is none the less robbery because it is done under the forms of law and is called taxation.  This is not legislation.  It is a decree under legislative forms."  
[ Loan Association v. Topeka,  20 Wall. 655, (1874)]

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"A tax, in the general understanding of the term and as used in the constitution, signifies an exaction for the support of the government. The word [tax] has never thought to connote the expropriation of money from one group for the benefit of another." 
[U.S. v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1 (1936)]

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“Surely the matters in which the public has the most interest are the supplies of food and clothing; yet can it be that by reason of this interest the state may fix the price at which the butcher must sell his meat, or the vendor of boots and shoes his goods? Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,-'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;' and to 'secure,' not grant or create, these rights, governments are instituted. That property which a man has honestly acquired he retains full control of, subject to these limitations: First, that he shall not use it to his neighbor's injury, and that does not mean that he must [can be compelled to] use it for his neighbor's benefit [e.g. Social Security, Medicare, etc]; second, that if he devotes it to a public use, he gives to the public a right to control that use; and third, that whenever the public needs require, the public may take it upon payment of due compensation.”
[Budd v. People of State of New York, 143 U.S. 517 (1892)]

5.        Being self-governing within our own families, so that we do not become subject to any type of government jurisdiction or laws in our normal everyday affairs.  This will minimize the size and power of the government so that they don’t become oppressive and don’t have to become our “parens patriae” or parent.  Our free Family Constitution describes how to do this at:

http://famguardian.org/Publications/FamilyConst/FamilyConst.htm

6.        Continually educating oneself so that we cannot be deceived or controlled by government, or are unable to support ourselves and have to depend on government.

“The price of eternal vigilance is eternal education.”  Family Guardian Fellowship

"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." -- James Madison (Letter to W.T. Barry, August 4, 1822)

7.        Enforcing the U.S. Constitution upon the state and federal governments, and especially the Bill of Rights. 

7.1.      Amendments 1 through 10 and 13 establish several rights that the federal government may not invade.

7.2.      The Fourteenth Amendment says the states may also not violate these rights either.

8.        The way citizens enforce the U.S. Constitution against the federal and state governments are as follows:

8.1.      Voting consistently in elections and picking the candidates who are honorable and will follow the Constitution and honor their promises.  (the Ballot Box)

"A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the most important rights of the subject, and in a republic ought to stand foremost in the estimation of the law. "  [Alexander Hamilton, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, Harold C. Syrett, ed. (New York, Columbia University Press, 1962), Vol III, pp. 544-545.]

8.2.      If candidates get elected who are not honorable, serving enthusiastically as a juror to nullify the bad laws they write. (the Jury Box)

8.3.      If jury nullification doesn’t work, defend your property against government tyranny using your right to own firearms (the Cartridge Box)

9.        Making sure that our government doesn’t become fiscally irresponsible and load us down with debt, and later use that as a justification to oppressively tax us:

"Funding I consider as limited, rightfully, to a redemption of the debt within the lives of a majority of the generation contracting it; every generation coming equally, by the laws of the Creator of the world, to the free possession of the earth He made for their subsistence, unincumbered by their predecessors, who, like them, were but tenants for life."
[Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, 1816. ME 15:18]

"[The natural right to be free of the debts of a previous generation is] a salutary curb on the spirit of war and indebtment, which, since the modern theory of the perpetuation of debt, has drenched the earth with blood, and crushed its inhabitants under burdens ever accumulating."
[Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 1813. ME 13:272]

"We believe--or we act as if we believed--that although an individual father cannot alienate the labor of his son, the aggregate body of fathers may alienate the labor of all their sons, of their posterity, in the aggregate, and oblige them to pay for all the enterprises, just or unjust, profitable or ruinous, into which our vices, our passions or our personal interests may lead us. But I trust that this proposition needs only to be looked at by an American to be seen in its true point of view, and that we shall all consider ourselves unauthorized to saddle posterity with our debts, and morally bound to pay them ourselves; and consequently within what may be deemed the period of a generation, or the life of the majority."
[Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 1813. ME 13:357]

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."
[Thomas Jefferson to A. L. C. Destutt de Tracy, 1820. FE 10:175]

"To preserve [the] independence [of the people,] we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses, and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they now do, on oatmeal and potatoes, have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account, but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers."
[Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1816. ME 15:39]

10.     Watching what our government does like a hawk and:

10.1.   Publicizing violations of the Constitution whenever you see them.  This is what we do in Chapter 6 of this book by showing the history of how our civil servants have corrupted and debased our de jure government to make an unlawful de facto government.

10.2.   Prosecuting specific wrongdoers working in government who violate the Constitutional rights of individuals using a Bivens action or a civil rights or discrimination lawsuit.

In America, the Republic, we most assuredly have separation of church and state, the First Amendment and the last paragraph, last sentence, of Article VI of the federal Constitution ensure this. 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” 
[U.S. Constitution, First Amendment]

 “…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” 
[U.S. Constitution, Article VI]

A good government, however, is one whose laws do not conflict in any way with God’s laws so that it does not expect citizens to violate their religious beliefs in order to obey its laws.  Citizens do not enforce God’s law directly on anyone but perhaps themselves, individually, and perhaps also within their own families, if they are believers.  Nor do Constitutional governments enforce God’s law directly on anyone or anything.  No one in America, the Republic, is required to belong to any religious organization, or even believe if any God, to be a good person and a good citizen.

Governments are not ruled by God nor God’s law but by the Law of the federal and state Constitutions.  In fact, the Constitution is the only law that government has to obey and was established exclusively to obey.  It says that right in the Constitution itself:

“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the Contrary notwithstanding.”
[U.S. Constitution, Article VI, Section 2 ]

The federal and state Constitutions express the will of the sovereign people as individuals (“We The People”) and delegate specific but not exclusive authority to the federal and state governments.  Any act by specific public servants in the government that is not authorized by either the federal or state Constitutions is an illegal act and good citizens will conscientiously prosecute government officials privately for such illegal acts if they injure the rights of anyone.  

"Unlawful.  That which is contrary to, prohibited, or unauthorized by law.  That which is not lawful.  The acting contrary to, or in defiance of the law; disobeying or disregarding the law.  Term is equivalent to “without excuse or justification.”  State v. Noble, 90 N.M. 360, 563 P.2d 1153, 1157.  While necessarily not implying the element of criminality, it is broad enough to include it."
[Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth, p. 1536]

When such an injury or violation of law occurs, the remedy is not to sue “the government”, but to sue the public official personally because he was not acting under the authority of law and was abusing his public office for personal gain to the injury of sovereign citizens.

God and His law may be enforced against natural persons primarily and we ought to avoid applying them to the government in order to promote separation of church and state.  However, when a government servant violates his authority delegated through the Constitution and has thereby acted as a private individual to injure a fellow citizen, then we as the sovereigns sitting on a jury can and should apply God’s moral laws or our conscience to determine how to punish the errant public servant and thereby protect our fellow aggrieved citizen.  In exercising their duties as jurors, sovereign citizens may completely ignore all Supreme Court decisions and question the righteousness of any legislation and disregard any they feel unjust. 

When we apply God’s laws and/or our conscience as jurors, we should do so with much discretion by not publicizing exactly how or why we are doing this, but simply quietly do our best based on our behavior and our decision to ensure that a just result occurs that is consistent with our conscience and with God’s moral laws.  Remember that jurors do not have to explain or justify to a judge why they arrived at a decision.  The only time that jurors might be called upon to explain their decision is to fellow jurors during deliberations.  We shouldn’t thump the Bible or get pious or become a missionary as a jurist, but simply talk about what is right and wrong in a generic sense.

"But our rulers can have no authority over such natural rights, only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are injurious to others."
[Thomas Jefferson in "Notes on Virginia"]

Good citizens are constantly aware that government is a “business”, or more properly, a “corporation” (see 28 U.S.C. §3002(15)(A) ), and they know that the sinful and selfish tendency of those in government is to get into every business except the constitutional purpose of its creation, so they watch their government like a hawk.

"Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the character of public men." 
[Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907), Vol. III, p. 236-237]

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." 
[Justice Louis D. Brandeis, dissenting, Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 479 (1928) ]

The reason to be a citizen is to have liberty, which is simply freedom with personal responsibility.  People who are free MUST govern and support themselves entirely and can be beholden to no man.  In America, unlike in Europe, the “state” consists of the people and not some king or dictator who rules over them, and they govern themselves through their elected representatives.

“State.  A people permanently occupying a fixed territory bound together by common-law habits and custom into one body politic exercising, through the medium of an organized government, independent sovereignty and control over all persons and things within its boundaries, capable of making war and peace and of entering into international relations with other communities of the globe.  United States v. Kusche, D.C.Cal., 56 F.Supp. 201 207, 208.  The organization of social life which exercises sovereign power in behalf of the people.  Delany v. Moralitis, C.C.A.Md., 136 F.2d 129, 130.  In its largest sense, a “state” is a body politic or a society of men.  Beagle v. Motor Vehicle Acc. Indemnification Corp., 44 Misc.2d 636, 254 N.Y.S.2d 763, 765.  A body of people occupying a definite territory and politically organized under one government.  State ex re. Maisano v. Mitchell, 155 Conn.  256, 231 A.2d 539, 542.  A territorial unit with a distinct general body of law.  Restatement, Second, Conflicts, §3.  Term may refer either to body politic of a nation (e.g. United States) or to an individual government unit of such nation (e.g. California).”
[Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 1407 ]

In our constitutional Republic, citizens as their own governors protect each other from government abuse and abuse by other citizens using legislation (laws) and the courts.  In particular, citizens protect each other from government abuse when serving on a jury and when voting for a candidate.  Christians cannot correctly disregard the duties of citizenship, such as voting and jury service, and at the same time obey Christ’s command to love your neighbor, because the purpose of being a good citizen is to protect your neighbor from abuse by the government and other fellow citizens.

“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” 
[U.S. Constitution, Article VI]

This oath is also found in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution:

“Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: -- "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." 
[U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1 ]

New citizens pledge allegiance to the Constitution when they are naturalized, and rightly so.  See immigrant oath to become an American.  The process of naturalization, in fact, is defined as the process of conferring nationality, which is then defined as someone who has allegiance:

TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER I > Sec. 1101.

Sec. 1101. - Definitions

 (a) As used in this chapter -

 (23) The term ''naturalization'' means the conferring of nationality of a state upon a person after birth, by any means whatsoever.

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TITLE 8 > CHAPTER 12 > SUBCHAPTER I > Sec. 1101.

Sec. 1101. - Definitions

 (a) As used in this chapter -

(21)  The term ''national'' means a person owing permanent allegiance to a state.

As a matter of fact the definition of an American is a “citizen of the United States” under the Fourteenth Amendment , Section 1 and a “national of the United States” under 8 U.S.C. §1408  and 8 U.S.C. §1452  who pledges allegiance to the Constitution, and renounces any allegiance to any foreign country and or any King of any country.  His duty as a citizen is the same as that of the Constitution, which is to promote the “general welfare”:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. “ 
[Preamble to the Constitution]

The above phrase means exactly what is says, “the general welfare, …of the UNITED STATES”, where “State” means the collection of people within a territory.  It does not mean the government of that region, because that government may not be obeying the Constitution and to obey tyrants who are in violation of the Constitution is to commit treason. 

Also in the body on the Constitution at Article I, Section 8 says; “general Welfare of the United States”.  “Welfare” in this case does NOT mean charity or socialism by any means.  The Constitution, in fact, does not authorize the government to involve itself in any insurance or welfare program such as Medicare, Social Security, Food stamps, or any other program. Such programs are anathema to the legislative intent of the Constitution and result in dependence.  The purpose of the Constitution is to ensure a separation of powers and the sovereignty of the people as individuals.  Sovereignty and government-dependency are mutually exclusive.  The original Articles of Confederation that preceded the Constitution, in fact, said that freeloaders were not entitled to the privileges and immunities of citizens!

“The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the different States in this Union, the free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States; and the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such restriction shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any state, to any other state of which the Owner is an inhabitant; provided also that no imposition, duties or restriction shall be laid by any state, on the property of the United States, or either of them.” 
[Article IV, Articles of Confederation]

Here is the definition of “paupers and vagabonds”:

“Vagabond.  A vagrant or homeless wanderer without means of honest livelihood.  Neering v. Illinois Cent. R. Co., 383 Ill.  366, 50 N.E.2d 497, 502.  One who wanders from place to place, having no fixed dwelling, or, if he has one, not abiding in it; a wanderer, especially such a person who is lazy and generally worthless without means of honest livelihood.” 
[Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 1548]

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“Vagrant.  At common law, wandering or going about from place to place by idle person who had no lawful or visible means of support and who subsisted on charity and did not work, though able to do so.  State v. Harlowe, 174 Wash. 227, 24 P.2d 601.  A general term, including, in English law, the several classes of idle and disorderly persons, rogues, and vagabonds, and incorrigible rogues.  One who wanders from place to place; an idle wander, specifically, one who has no settled habitation, nor any fixed income or livelihood.  A vagabond; a tramp.  A person able to work who spends his time in idleness or immorality, having no property to support him and without some visible and known means of fair, honest, and reputable livelihood.  State v. Oldham, 224 N.C. 415, 30 S.E.2d 318, 319.  One who is apt to become a public charge through his own laziness.  People, on Complaint of McDonough, v. Gesino, Sp.Sess., 22 N.Y.S.2d 284, 285.  See Vagabond; Vagrancy.”
[Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 1548]

Incidentally, the above also happens to describe most of the people who work for the government.  We know, because some of us worked for the federal government and were always frustrated with the irresponsible attitudes of government coworkers!  Most are do-nothing no-loads who effectively are "retired on duty" (R.O.D.).  Hee...hee...hee.  Based on the above, those who must draw from the government through charity or socialist welfare programs as a private citizen cannot have the rights or privileges of citizenship under the original Articles of Confederation, and that is exactly what happens to those who participate in our present Social Security or the government’s tax system. 

Copyright Family Guardian Fellowship