OPINION A12 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2013 www.TheEpochTimes.com/Opinion How to Improve Accountability of Elected Officials, and Hold Them to Their Oaths Published in 35 countries and 21 languages. Publisher: John Tang English-Language Editions MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY IMAGES FOR FOUNDATION FOR THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES By Catherine Crabill As America stands upon a great and dangerous precipice, millions of Americans involve themselves battling against an ever-emerging Tyranny. We skirmish on so many fronts that even though our numbers are legion, our efforts are minimized in their effectiveness by the nature of the division intentionally created by those who wage war against our liberty. As I have prayed for our great nation I believe God has shown me a “silver bullet” by which We the People can and must reclaim control over every renegade and corrupt president, congressman, senator, state delegate, judge, sheriff, and so on. In fact, this concept will affect every constitutional office holder and restore said Constitution to its rightful place as supreme Law of the Land. I propose legislation, drafted and introduced on a state level, which would make it a Class 1 felony to betray one’s oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution. The penalty would need to be significant in its severity, not only depriving such criminals of their liberty, mandatorily, but also their personal property. Examination and Citizen Grand Jury Anyone interested in running for any office, from clerk of the court to state governor, congressman or senator, would be required by law to pass an examination on the Constitution before they could enter any contest as a candidate. Just as any person wanting to become a doctor, lawyer, accountant, or realtor must first be examined for compe- tency, how much more should we expect from those who “rule” or represent us? In addition, an examination proves that the examinee knows what is expected of them and which actions are criminally prosecutable, thus the examinee cannot claim ignorance. The examination is the linchpin of accountability. As it stands now, the remedy for removing someone from office, other than the ballot box, (and few trust the veracity of an Who could stand before their constituents and explain how they voted against this proposal because they refuse to be held accountable? election anymore), is a recall or an impeachment. While these tools are indeed available, the task of implementing any of the above is daunting in its scope. The vast majority of us feel impotent and frustrated. I propose in this legislative initiative that a pre-determined number of petition signatures, achievable by a single concerned citizen, would trigger a Citizen Grand Jury made up of volunteers who likewise would have taken and passed the same examination on the Constitution as the constitutional office holder. Once a Citizen Grand Jury brings forth a bill of indictment, the constitutional office holder (L-R) Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero and filmmakers Ken Burns and Steven Spielberg view the Constitution of the United States in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 19. would have to defend themselves before a jury of their peers, who would also be made up of those who have taken and passed the exam, and be presided over by a judge who has also taken and passed the exam, and who is not allowed to be a member of the bar, thus avoiding the corruption rampant in our judicial system. Upholding and Studying the Constitution Imagine the far-reaching ramifications of such an initiative! It would destroy the left-right paradigm, nullifying the Republican, Democrat, and Libertarian parties. After all, if everyone in office were held accountable to their oath it would not matter if one were an avowed communist! Once you take that oath you will be held to criminal account for betraying it. Furthermore, it would decimate the numbers of those whose motive in pursuit of political office may be less than honorable. This legislation would be retroactive in requiring all current office holders to take and pass the same examination. From that point forward they would be held to the same standard as any incoming governor, senator, congressman, delegate, sheriff, or clerk of the court. In addition, since We the People would be rightfully empowered to hold these men and women to account, there The examination is the linchpin of accountability. would be a vast revival in the common man’s interest and study of the Constitution. Such conversations would be had in restaurants, bars, parties, and churches, because the rule of constitutional law would be restored into the hands of every American. It would electrify the electorate. The naysayers have argued that no legislator would vote to shackle him or herself under these restraints. To that I say: who would dare vote against it!? Who could stand before their constituents and explain how they voted against it because they refuse to be held accountable? Holding our congressmen and senators to account would hold the president to account. If we could prosecute our congressmen and senators for betraying their oath to balance the budget, protect our privacy, impeach and prosecute a rogue president and corrupt administration, and so forth, I submit they would do what they, by virtue of their oath, should be doing already. We could also recapture control over the Supreme Court for betraying our Constitution by referencing any other law other than our Constitution. At the time of this writing, I have submitted this idea to three state legislators in the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of whom has responded and shown a genuine interest. For those who have made a name in their respective field of expertise fighting unconstitutional assaults on our liberty, this initiative may feel threatening. After all, many have spent a lifetime and a fortune doing battle on their respective fronts. Nevertheless, this would end the need to fight the NSA, TSA, Agenda 21, EPA, and so forth, as those who, to date, have betrayed our country, our liberty, and our prosperity will have to face We the People on a field they do not control as the rule of law is restored to America again. It is not only our right—it is our duty. Catherine Crabill was the Republican nominee for the 99th District in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2009. She lives in Irvington, Va. Editor-In-Chief: John Nania Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Stephen Gregory New York Edition Editors Managing Editor: Charlotte Cuthbertson News Editor: Andrea Hayley New York News Editor: Ivan Pentchoukov Nation News: Mary Silver World News: Jasper Fakkert Sports: Dave Martin Arts & Culture: Christine Lin Health & Fitness: June Fakkert Science & Tech: Ben Bendig Travel: Cary Dunst Creative Director: Seth Holehouse Director of Advertising: Amir Talai Director of Circulation: Matt Tullar New York Contacts 212-239-2808 Advertising: [email protected] Subscriptions: [email protected] General Inquiries: [email protected] Permissions & Copyright: [email protected] For Feedback & Submissions Letters to the editor: [email protected] Comments: [email protected] Submissions of Articles and Commentaries: [email protected] We reserve the right to edit. Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party The ‘Nine Commentaries’ is the book that is disintegrating the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and changing China. This award-winning Epoch Times editorial series discloses the true history and nature of the CCP. Now it is serialized here. Commentary Six (cont.) On How the Chinese Communist Party Destroyed Traditional Culture Chinese tradition has it that “scholars can be killed but cannot be humiliated.” The CCP was capable of humiliating intellectuals by depriving their right to make a living and even incriminating their families unless they accepted humiliation. Many intellectuals did surrender. During the course, some of them told on others to save themselves, which broke many people’s hearts. Those who did not submit to humiliation were killed—serving as examples to terrorize other intellectuals. The traditional scholarly class, exemplars of social morality, was thus obliterated. Mao Zedong said: “What can Emperor Qin Shi Huang brag about? He only killed 460 Confucian scholars, but we killed 46,000 intellectuals. In our suppression of counter-revolutionaries, didn’t we kill some counter-revolutionary intellectuals as well? I argued with the pro-democratic people who accused us of acting like Emperor Qin Shi Huang. I said they were wrong. We surpassed him by a hundred times.” i Indeed, Mao did more than kill the intellectuals. More grievously, he destroyed their minds and hearts. The Semblance of Traditional Culture After the CCP adopted economic reform and an opendoor policy, it renovated many churches as well as Buddhist and Taoist temples. It also organized some temple fairs in China as well as cultural fairs overseas. This was the last effort of the CCP to utilize and destroy the remaining traditional culture. There were two reasons for the CCP to do this. On the one hand, the kindness inherent in human nature, which the CCP could not possibly eradicate, will lead to the destruction of the “Party culture.” On the other hand, the CCP intended to use traditional cul- ture to apply cosmetics to its true face in order to cover up its evil nature of “deceit, wickedness, and violence.” The essence of culture is its inner moral meaning, while the superficial forms have only entertainment value. The CCP restored the superficial elements of culture, which entertain, to cover up its purpose of destroying morality. No matter how many art and calligraphy exhibits the CCP has organized, how many culture festivals with dragon and lion dances it has staged, how many food festivals it has hosted, or how much classical architecture it has built, the Party is simply restoring the superficial appearance, but not the essence of the culture. In the meantime, the CCP promoted its cultural showpieces both inside and outside China basically for the sole purpose of maintaining political power. Once again, temples are an example. Temples are meant to be places for people to cultivate, hearing bells in the morning and drums at sunset, worshiping Buddha under burning oil lamps. People in ordinary human society can also confess and worship there. Cultivation requires a pure heart that pursues nothing. Confession and worship also require a serious and solemn environment. However, temples have been turned into tourist resorts for the sake of economic profits. Among the people actually visiting temples in China today, how many of them have come to contemplate their mistakes with a sincere and respectful heart toward Buddha, right after taking a bath and changing their clothes? Restoring the semblance, but destroying the inner meaning of traditional culture is the tactic that the CCP has taken to confuse people. Be it Buddhism, other religions, or cultural forms derived from them, the CCP deliberately degrades them in this way. III. The Party Culture While the CCP was destroying the traditional semi-divine culture, it quietly established its own “Party culture” through continuous political movements. The Party culture has transformed the older generation, poisoned the younger generation, and also had an impact on children. Its influence has been extremely deep and broad. Even when many people tried to expose the evilness of the CCP, they couldn’t help but adopt the ways of judging good and bad, the ways of analyzing, and the vocabulary developed by the CCP, which inevitably carry the imprint of the Party culture. The Party culture not only inherited the essential wickedness of the foreign-born Marxist-Leninist culture, but also skillfully combined all the negative elements from thousands of years of Chinese culture with the violent revolution and philosophy of struggle from the Party’s propaganda. Those negative components include internal strife for power inside the royal family, forming cliques to pursue selfish interests, political trickery to make others suffer, dirty tactics, and conspiracy. During the CCP’s struggle for survival in the past decades, its characteristic of “deceit, wickedness, and violence” has been enriched, nurtured, and carried forward. i Qian Bocheng, “Oriental Culture,” fourth edition (2000). Please include your name, address, and phone number. The Epoch Times International 229 W. 28th St., Floor 6 New York, NY 10001 Other English-Language Editions UNITED STATES Dallas Los Angeles San Francisco Washington, D.C. 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