The Sublime and the Ridiculous By M. E. Boyd, Esq., “Miss Constitution”

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVERSATIONS

          The Sublime and the Ridiculous

                                    by

       M. E. Boyd, Esq., “Miss Constitution”

What human beings can do when well-motivated is a wonder to behold. There, in Florida, standing tall, a rocket ready to take two men to the international space station for scientific experiments that might help all humankind. This project is the result of private ingenuity and skill in partnership with the vast resources of government, that together do what each could not do alone. An inspiration – the sublime.

And then there is a former President who, having poisoned the minds of the young with inappropriate graduation addresses last week, doubles down this week and takes a gas can with premium octane fuel and throws it on the fire of mob violence. The discouraging – the ridiculous. Former President Obama broke three rules, two of them cultural, and one of them legal.

1. Graduation speeches are to inspire each person, if young, to rise to whatever heights he or she can reach in a quest for virtue and greatness. Such a speech never encompasses the cynical, the hateful, the sarcastic, the discouraging and it is never used as an ad for monetary or political gain. Sometimes it is used to help the listener get in touch with that part of his or her education that involves the spiritual, or the grateful, or the power of that part of all human beings that reason cannot touch.
2. Former Presidents are asked by our society to stay quiet while their successor, elected by the people, steps into the same position of power. It is called the Peaceful Transfer of Power and is a hallmark of our system. Unwritten Law requires that the transition be gracious, be helpful, be kindly, and be honest. The new administration is briefed, is welcomed, is helped, as we all do when a new bride or groom is welcomed into the family. There is no such thing as illegal acts of sabotage; creating distrust in the American people regarding the person they just chose; planting deep state actors through late appointments whose job it is to distort and destroy the new administration; leaking classified information to a willing media that threatens the security of the nation; or doing anything unethical knowing the new administration does not as yet have its sea legs. Comments by a former President about a current President’s handling of the current virus or anything else is completely forbidden as both a cultural no-no and an abandonment of Unwritten Law.
3. The current legal issue that has caused a break down in our society involves a public servant with power, abusing it, and causing the unnecessary death of a citizen

he had a duty to protect. This public servant has been charged but an investigation has not been completed. We do not know the motive of the charged. We do not know if the motive was racist or not. A film does not show motive. The charging authorities will take whatever amount of time they need to come up with the facts. In the meantime, a former President or anyone else should not assume motives and should not make public comments about something that is speculative. This becomes a defense to the charged if it can be shown that a fair trial is impossible. For a former President who is an attorney to do this is puzzling indeed. It also breaks the cultural rule of silence that we expect from every former President especially regarding something this serious and damaging to our country. A tragedy of this magnitude needs to be handled with utmost attention to fair process and with every criminal procedure duly followed, including any that are a part of union work rules that might apply. In our penal code the mental state of the accused (mens rea) is an element of criminal responsibility. Proving that mental state beyond a reasonable doubt is one of the difficult tasks of the investigation. Guessing at the mental state of the accused, much less announcing that one knows the mental state of the accused and giving a statement about it to an already inflamed public, is beyond irresponsible. It can lead to a jury thinking no fair trial by one’s peers is possible. Those investigated facts are also important in properly charging the accused. An improper charge will result in no conviction at all. Silence by former Presidents is an important element of our criminal justice system and must be honored.

Last week Miss Constitution wrote about the possibility that the Wuhan virus was a trial run to see if the American public would accept a loss of Constitutionally guaranteed Liberty if made afraid enough. That it has been shown that the virus attaches to human cells perfectly raises questions about its origin and mutation that needs meticulous investigation. The magnitude and importance of the President’s foreign policy decisions will affect many generations of Americans and all of Western Civilization. The breakdown of our social order now going on and the loss of life, livelihood, and property is equally devastating. What has been supposedly taught to every generation of Americans, namely that facts matter, and that process is the difference between chaos and civility has been destroyed over the last few nights with many in authority afraid to restore order. That the American people would give up the  Rule of Law so quickly is a testament to our education system and to our cultural degradation. Again, decisions around these events are difficult and crucial to our future. Our intelligence community can hopefully identify any terrorists who are exploiting the situation, have them detained, and prevent further deterioration until the process of identifying provable facts has been completed.

In the meantime, Miss Constitution would ask each of you to be careful what you so blithely say as true, until we know for sure, and that you refrain from sapping our elected leaders of the support they need as they try and get a handle on issues of momentous consequence to our nation. Miss Constitution would ask this of all of us, even former Presidents. She would also invite America’s religious leaders to step into the fray and help out. Our goal is the sublime, not the ridiculous.

Copyright©2020 by M. E. Boyd, Esq., “Miss Constitution”

info@missconstitution.com

APPLES OF GOLD – Voices from the Past that Speak to us Now by M.E. Boyd is available at www.amazon.com