And if lawmakers and courts had been as desirous of preserving men's natural rights, as they have been of violating them, they would long ago have found out that, since these amendments, the constitution authorized no lawmaking at all.
Lysander Spooner: “And if lawmakers and courts had been as desirous of preserving men's natural rights, as they have been of violating…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner suggests that lawmakers have failed to uphold natural rights as intended by the amendments.
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They do not tell us of the almshouses, hospitals, schools, churches, etc., which, out of the purest charity and benevolence, they maintain for our benefit, out of the money they take from us.
On the contrary, they acknowledge themselves robbers, murderers, and villains, pure and simple.
They do not attempt to deceive us, or mislead us, or reconcile us to their doings, by any such pretences, impostures, or insults as these.
For all these reasons, they are not only modest and sensible, but really frank, honest, and honorable villains, contrasted with these courts of injustice, and the lawmakers by whom these courts are established.