Letters to the Supreme Court

Episodes 25 & 26

Letter Twenty-Five

Dear Chief Justice Silverstein and Fellow Justices:

As the nation moves toward another presidential primary season, many people are thinking about the Constitution and what it guarantees, as well as democracy and what it means for the current generation. We often take our rights under the Constitution and a democratic government for granted -- until those rights are trampled on and made of none effect. What those rights are and how we relate to them have come under increasing scrutiny on numerous issues including: gun ownership, the public practice of religion, where and when citizens can protest, as well as the issue of marriage.

Nothing makes hard-working, honest citizens feel more betrayed than when they look up and realize that the government that is supposed to be on their side, looking out for their best interest, and defending their rights is actually working against them.

Take for example a Christian couple who own a bakery in Oregon: Last month they had to pay over $135,000 because of a complaint by a same-sex couple whose wedding they refused to bake a cake for due to religious objections. Not only the federal government, but many state and local governments seem biased (and beholden) to the homosexual rights agenda which insists that anyone who disagrees with them is hateful or bigoted.

Homosexual rights activists insist that objecting to provide non-essential services (such as a wedding cake) is discrimination (and should be prosecuted as such or as a hate crime). It is not, especially when there are dozens of other bakeries in the region that would happily provide the same services. (This is the same group of people who insist on diversity. Apparently, they allow for diversity only as long as one does not diversify too far from their own set of beliefs.) If the government and the judicial system truly wish to protect the diverse population of this country, it must not halt at fair treatment of those who differ one from another in religious belief and practice.

Sincerely,

Michael Elderson

Letter Twenty-Six

Dear Chief Justice Silverstein and Fellow Justices:

Nothing is more valued in America than the liberty we have to govern ourselves. That is the freedom we won in the War for Independence from Great Britain. King George III and the English Parliament wanted the colonists to be ruled by a government in which they had no say. When the British threat was done away with as a result of the war, many forms of government were proposed. Some thought it wise to make George Washington king; he declined. Eventually, a system of government emerged which allowed for the people to have maximum freedom and liberty and for the government to defend said freedoms against threats from within and without.

Today, our country faces threats to its freedoms from within and without.

From without, Islamic extremists have threatened to infiltrate or invade our country (or both). They see the freedoms we have as excess (and even sinful) and wish to take away those rights and impose harsh Islamic law. Such a threat might seem farfetched, but many European governments thought Hitler and his Nazis would never really attempt to take over the continent. He got far too close to accomplishing his goal. We mustn't make the same mistakes twice. As recent attacks have shown, in both European and American cities, extremists are among us, and they have shown a will to kill, maim, and destroy.

The situation from within is more complicated. Our divided nation seems unable to settle on which groups are a true threat to the liberty Americans enjoy.

Take guns, for example: Who is really trying to secure Americans' rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Those who advocate freer access to guns or those who are trying to restrict such access?

Take religious freedom: Are those who oppose any expression of faith in public really defending Americans' rights? Or is freedom of religious expression in public protected under the Constitution?

Take same-sex marriage: Are those who oppose same-sex marriage trying to deny a basic right to other Americans? The answer is no. These people are just standing up for long-held biblical truth. Are those who desire for same-sex marriage to be openly embraced by all, thus trampling on the rights of those who are against it? The answer again here is no.

These are important questions to think about in this election year. One thing is certain, for years to come, the Supreme Court will play an important role in these debates. As the interpreters of the Constitution, the nation's highest justices have an obligation to protect the freedom of Americans. It must truly serve that purpose and not set itself up as a "ruler" of the American people.

That is not its role.

Sincerely,

Michael Elderson