Let me say upfront, anticipating that some will argue the Bill of Rights protects citizens only from government infringement, not private entities, I assure you that I understand, but bear with me. What prompts me to write this are comments by Michigan Senate candidate, Abduhl El-Sayed, and Ohio State Representative candidate Jeff Clapper. El-Sayed soke recently. Clapper 14 years ago. Both argued for abolishing the Second Amendment. Clapper’s comment was more extreme.
First Amendment.
The First Amendment provides several key protections. Again, it dictates that the government shall not establish a religion, prohibit the free exercise thereof, abridge the freedom of speech or of the press, or infringe upon the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Rights are being infringed both privately and by the government. Even when done privately, it happens with the tacit approval of the state. Think back to COVID as but one example.
If anything has become an established religion, it is the worship of big government. Meanwhile, free exercise is actively suppressed. Look at the pandemic: church services were shut down, yet rioting was permitted as if the virus could magically distinguish between rioters and churchgoers. Freedom of speech and the press are systematically undermined by private platforms working hand in hand with government pressure.
Look at college campuses a few years ago, and even today: the moment speech is labeled “hate speech,” free speech dies. Expression is speech. Wear a MAGA hat on campus and see what happens; some have gone so far as to equate it to a white hood. Universities allow this hostility to thrive, though a reckoning is coming if current trends continue.
And then there is cancel culture, which is the social execution of anyone who speaks out of line. Finally, consider the right to petition for redress: rioting is not petitioning. Yet local and state governments stand down while soft-on-crime prosecutors refuse to charge offenders.
Second Amendment.
This guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. The Biden-Harris administration made its agenda clear by intending to disarm law-abiding citizens, likely through forced buybacks. It didn’t happen, but the fight for guaranteed rights was an expensive one in the courts. These rights are being steadily eroded. One needs only to look at what has happened in Virginia after the left, under the guise of moderation, seized control of the legislature and governor’s mansion.
Third Amendment.
While historically vital to prevent the quartering of troops in private homes, which was a direct response to British tyranny during the Revolution, it has not been a major legal battleground in modern times. Still, it remains an essential check on power.
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.
These three protect due process and fair legal procedure. The Fourth guards against illegal search and seizure; the Fifth protects life, liberty, and property from arbitrary government takeovers; and the Sixth guarantees criminal procedure rights.
Yet these protections are regularly ignored. During the first Trump administration, invalid search warrants were secured using the fabricated Steele dossier, which was paid for by a rival political campaign, to trick the secret FISA court and spy on the Trump campaign. As long as the USA PATRIOT ACT exists, there is going to be an encroachment of privacy rights. Today, some would add flock cameras to the discussion.
As for the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination, we have turned traditional due process upside down. On college campuses, accused students are routinely denied the right to present witnesses or confront accusers. Look back at the Kavanaugh hearings: an innocent man was expected to prove a negative, which is a legal and logical impossibility. Social media, and regular, declares guilt upon accusation.
Seventh and Eighth Amendments.
We can largely skip the Seventh, but the Eighth demands attention. It bars excessive bail, outrageous fines, and cruel and unusual punishment. Yet the system has failed here, too. Joe Biden’s 1994 Crime Bill led to the mass incarceration of miner offenses, disproportionately affecting minority communities. Remember how Kamala Harris prosecuted marijuana offenses aggressively, only to laugh about her own past use later. President Trump took action to reverse these injustices through real criminal justice reform.
Ninth and Tenth Amendments.
These amendments reserve unlisted rights and state powers to the people and the states. Yet state sovereignty has been systematically gutted by an expanding federal Leviathan run by an unelected, unaccountable administrative state: the Swamp.
The Bottom Line. This decline did not happen overnight, but the erosion of our fundamental liberties has accelerated dramatically in recent years. The bleeding can be stopped, but it requires leadership committed to upholding constitutional limits.
FB has restricted my reach, so I am typing this quickly to get it on my page before the election, because the principles of our nation are on the ballot. I plan to expound on each of these points in greater detail soon. On X, I have no restrictions. Feel free to share it.
I will leave you with this: the 2026 election results will test American common sense, patriotism, and our instinct for self-preservation. Our nation is not perfect; we have made mistakes, but we have always fought to correct them.
I am asking you to stand up and keep America, America.
