The battle between states rights and federal power has been going on ever since this country was founded. The founding fathers often disagreed on how much power the Federal government had over the states. How much power does the government really have over the states? Has the government been overstepping its Constitutionally given boundary and crushed the fingers of its people?
Before I continue, I want to make it explicitly clear that even though I am a proponent of states rights, I do not believe in slavery and think that it is an appalling practice. One sentence, "Killing in the Name Of" (Rage Against the Machine).
Many people wonder how much power the Federal government really has over its people, chiefly the states. As one reads the debates of Noah Webster and other such debaters prior to the Civil War, he will note the reasons why the states believed that they had a right to leave the Union. One such reason was based on the fact that if the thirteen colonies came together to start the Union, then any state could voluntarily leave the Union. After all, the states are what really makes up the Union. Let me show an example of this concept. Say you and your buddies are playing a game of free-for-all paintball. Say that a few of you come together and make a treaty and an alliance and say that you all will equally contribute to the success of the whole. Since you helped created the alliance, isn't it your right to leave it? Another reason why the South believed that it had a right to leave the Union was because of unfair taxes being hurled at them. Back to the paintball example. If you are contributing to the whole more so than anyone else, wouldn't you feel angry and want to leave?
Many of you are wondering how this applies to modern day times. Look at Gay Marriage and and the gun bans being proposed. Not to mention the battle between creation and evolution in schools. In many of these cases, states have already decided a verdict through directly elected officials. However, the losers of the court cases turn to the Federal powers and Supreme Court for pity. Most of the time, if not always, the Federal courts rule in favor of the state court losers. When it comes to state laws such as the ones mentioned, it should be up to the states to decide what is done. Who is more directly elected, the state legislature or the Supreme Court? The state legislature of course. Who is more in line with the wants and desires of the people living in the state? The state government. Isn't democracy the will of the people? Why then should the will of the state residents be trampled on by the Federal government?
As Federal power grows, state power decreases. The states are the only thing that keeps this country from turning into a republic without democracy. With laws such as the Patriot Act being established, I begin to wonder how much freedom Americans really have. States rights is the last line of defense against a super-powerful Federal government. It would be suicide to get rid of the very thing that holds the fabric of our great nation together.
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