There Once was a Dream | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Our prolific contributor, Diane Rufino, submitted this brief op-ed on the constitutional neglect of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper to Beaufort County Now and the Greenville Daily Reflector, which succinctly makes her very cogent point on the most significant constitutional issue of this century.

    On April 17th, State Attorney General Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina would not challenge the constitutionality of the Health care reform bill. I'm disappointed that North Carolina will not join with the other 15 states which see the reform bill as an illegal abuse of congressional power which will have lasting effects on State's rights. Going forward, states will lose the ability to solve their own problems and in a manner favorable and non-intrusive for its people.

    When the government tells a young healthy person, looking to save money, that he must purchase healthcare insurance from the government, what the government is really doing is denying him freedom of choice, burdening his pursuit of happiness, invading his right of privacy (government will have intimate knowledge of his health status), is going to eventually decide what medical coverage he is entitled to, and is taking his money to spread out to pay for others who don?t have medical insurance and who need medical treatment.

    The Constitution is the birthright of every American citizen, and on issues affecting its integrity, the people should be consulted and given the opportunity to pursue all avenues to ensure its legitimate interpretation. After all, we are still a democratic republic. Patrick Henry told us: "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; It is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it comes to dominate our lives and interests."

    As the noble Emperor said about the republic in the movie "Gladiator": "There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it.... It was so fragile. I fear that it will not survive the winter." Let's not allow our own Republic to become fragile.

    We need to put political differences aside and concentrate on fixing the foundations of our government.