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800 Years of English Rule of Law
Ricochet ^ | June 16, 2015 | Rand Simberg

Posted on 06/17/2015 12:48:34 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Yesterday was the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede. The “Great Charter” (actually, its full name was Magna Carta Libertatum, or Great Charter of Liberty) was the first codification in English history of the principle that the power of government had limitations.

I attended a mini-conference to commemorate it on Sunday night and yesterday morning. Hosted by the American Freedom Alliance, in Bellaire (near the UCLA campus), it was an intellectual feast, with talks and panels from historical scholars and law professors (including Amy Peikoff, an Objectivist atheist who declared Ted Cruz to be the best Republican candidate from the standpoint of the Constitution and rule of law).

The attendees and participants were not just American, but from all over the Anglosphere (the organizer of the conference, Avi Davis, is an Australian Jew). While mostly Americans, there were representatives from New Zealand and England (though no obvious Canadians). One of the highlights were greetings via the Internet from former Australian PM John Howard, and from Member of the European Parliament from South East England, Daniel Hannon, from the memorial at Runnymede itself.

Based on some of the discussion on Sunday night, I wrote a piece for PJMedia yesterday:

…while imperfect, and only a start, it was the first document known in the history of the world to elevate the law above men, with all that implied. It said that even kings (and presidents) had limits to their power, and couldn’t simply make it up as it went along. That is why it lies in our own National Archives, along with the foundational documents of our own Anglospheric nation.

It is worth noting that in all cases up to now — the baron’s revolt against John, the Glorious Revolution against James, and the American Revolution against George — the revolution was carried about by elites. They were the most well read, and familiar with history, and what happens when despots are granted arbitrary power. As the wealthiest of their society, they also had the most to lose in such revolts. They were committing treason against a king, which historically meant not just the loss of land and title, but was a capital offense, to be carried out in the most cruel ways of the times (traditionally by the removal of entrails while still alive, and then dismembered).

Sadly, today we have not leaders, but a new elite who seem indifferent to this history, and to the well being of the people. Instead, while mouthing monotonic platitudes about their love of the working class, they seem to believe that they have their own divine rights, including even hereditary ones, in which their untalented children can get no-work contracts from wealthy corporations in return for political favors.

Our elites today, rather than becoming concerned, have become the enablers of the powerful, and grow wealthy at the expense of those whom they view as their ignorant, dependent lessers. The revolt against the overreach of power has not come from them, but from below. As with the ancient Saxons, it has come from the yeomanry of the nation — the small business owners, the ranchers, the craftsmen, and the Tea Partiers. Like the Founders, they are now the best educated about the rights of man and the Constitution, and they now have the most to lose should the nation fall back into the old ways.

They saved us from we know not what in the election of 2010, taking back the House. They had a setback in 2012, because the elites struck back, with corruption, lies, and abuse of their power, reinstalling a charismatic mortal who thinks he is a law unto himself. They rose up again last year, taking back the Senate, but the tyrannical God-King remains.

We have perhaps one more chance for our own Runnymede. It may take the form of a simple election, if sweeping enough. Or perhaps we will have to gather among the states and come up with a new compact to build on the old ones whose principles and ideas are increasingly ignored and viewed as irrelevant by those who would rule us. But whatever the future holds, let us remember and be guided by that past.

I encourage people to read the whole thing.


TOPICS: Government; History; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: 1215; 2016election; constitution; election2016; foundingfathers; godsgravesglyphs; kingjohn; magnacarta; middleages; renaissance; tedcruz; texas

1 posted on 06/17/2015 12:48:34 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Good column. Last para:

We have perhaps one more chance for our own Runnymede. It may take the form of a simple election, if sweeping enough. Or perhaps we will have to gather among the states and come up with a new compact to build on the old ones whose principles and ideas are increasingly ignored and viewed as irrelevant by those who would rule us.

Article V before we can't.

2 posted on 06/17/2015 1:10:13 AM PDT by Jacquerie (Article V. If not now, when?)
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To: Jacquerie
Or a National Divorce. They take the Northeast, Canadian border strip, Northwest & California, so that they'll be connected. We take the rest. Call it an experiment. People have six months to relocate to the country of their choice and then the borders are closed.
3 posted on 06/17/2015 1:14:58 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can help: https://donate.tedcruz.org/c/FBTX0095/)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Another thing Obama is in the process of destroying.


4 posted on 06/17/2015 1:27:07 AM PDT by kaehurowing
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To: kaehurowing

He has 15 months left to go. If we don’t &^%$-up and elect Jeb or Hillary, we have a chance to put things right.


5 posted on 06/17/2015 1:30:18 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can help: https://donate.tedcruz.org/c/FBTX0095/)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
It's a common weal issue: Freedom is for everyone, or it's for no one. There is an issue of "the best things in life" which are free, held in common, they describe ineffible qualities of the good life, they can't be bought--the exclusive prerogatives of the wealthy are the fly in the ointment, "how much better can you live, how many more houses or cars can you own?"--"you don't understand, it's a higher calling". If the uber-wealthy were really as divine as their money makes them believe, they would prove it by guaranteeing the same freedom to the poorest and most seemingly insignificant person. That's magnanimity.
6 posted on 06/17/2015 1:33:59 AM PDT by CharlesOConnell (CharlesOConnell)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

We cecede no land to the leftists, civil war II begins, we deport leftists survives to Cuba. By slow leaky boat.


7 posted on 06/17/2015 2:53:41 AM PDT by exnavy (socialism and communism are indistinguishable.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; Kale; Jarhead9297; COUNTrecount; notaliberal; DoughtyOne; MountainDad; ...
    Ted Cruz Ping!

    If you want on/off this ping list, please let me know.
    Please beware, this is a high-volume ping list!

    CRUZ or LOSE!

8 posted on 06/17/2015 7:35:17 AM PDT by SoConPubbie (Mitt and Obama: They're the same poison, just a different potency)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Bump


9 posted on 06/17/2015 4:33:26 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
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Note: this topic is from 06/17/2015. Thanks to the late 2ndDivisionVet.

10 posted on 06/16/2020 2:12:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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