Our unique form of government
Over the years and especially the last several months, a small group of Santa Feans could not help but notice varying degrees of ignorance regarding our Constitution and the constitutional republic we have as a result of the Constitution. There is also a great deal of misunderstanding of other forms of government, especially socialism and democracy. For example, many millennials, when questioned about the socialism they professed to want, could not define what socialism entailed, or how it would affect them. It also seems that many, if not most, people believe the United States is a democracy; it is in fact a constitutional republic.
Therefore, we felt it was incumbent upon us to see what we could do to help educate people as to the meaning and history of our unique form of government before it disappeared due to apathy and ignorance. We have been talking to people individually to correct misunderstandings where we could with some success; however, we were not reaching enough people with one-on-one contacts. Not everybody would accept what we had to say; after all, that is not what they learned in school, from their peers and their elected representatives. It was then decided that we should invite a constitutional expert and speaker on the subject.
KrisAnne Hall accepted our invitation, and would come on her next available dates for two days. We arranged venues and times. The Santa Fe Public Library made available times for four lectures, the New Mexico State Library provided us with time for a student lecture, and the Rio Grande Foundation arranged a luncheon meeting for her to speak. Radio station KKOB-AM in Albuquerque hosted an interview. We invited elected representatives to any and all meetings; only a couple of candidates for office showed up.
Some members of the Friends of the Library objected to Hall coming to speak, making disparaging remarks. Her lectures are apolitical; she does not inject her own opinions and speaks only to documented facts. I was personally at a loss as to what could be controversial about teaching facts about the Constitution and our other founding documents, as were other members of our group. We could only surmise that the progressives did not want the people to hear conflicting opinions from what our progressive-dominated school system has spent so much time and effort in the indoctrination of our youth and other citizens. After all, an educated public is hardly conducive to the people being controlled by collectivist brainwashing by liberal progressive philosophy of mindless following by the “intellectual elites.” You might recall the elites got beaten badly when they tried to control our beverage choices.
Thankfully, the library officials and a majority of board members of the Friends of the Library saw our efforts as a free-speech issue and rejected the calls to withdraw approval for our use of the facilities, which we appreciated very much. We thanked the library staff and board members for their principles and courage under pressure. At least one of the dissidents showed up for at least one lecture and conducted himself in a gentlemanly manner. Perhaps the progressives are learning it is OK to disagree, but not to be disagreeable.
It would have been great if a lot of the public school teachers and politicians would have attended and taken the message to heart. We have already lost a lot of our liberties through apathy and ignorance. Hall’s message of “Liberty First” can be a start to reclaiming a limited constitutional republic from both sides of the aisle.
Paul Morrison is retired and lives in Santa Fe.