Bill Randell, one of the group’s co-founders, started the group’s April 23 meeting with a reminder of the group’s mission. Randell read directly from the North Carolina State Constitution.
“All political power is derived from the people,” Randell said. “Government is founded upon their will only. The people of this state have the inherent, sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof.”
He paused for a moment, then continued.
“You have to listen — this is a reservation of rights. The people of this state have the inherent, sole, and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof; and of altering or abolishing their constitution or form of government whenever it may become necessary for their safety and happiness.”
Randell, along with co-founders Cliff Muncy, Tyler Dodson, and Jim Medeiros started the group about a year ago with meetings held in Randell’s living room. As the group continued to grow in membership, the meetings were shifted to the old cafeteria of Freedom Baptist Church. Randell was quick to point out that the church allows the group to use the facility but they don’t necessarily endorse Carolina Liberty’s positions. Randell said quite often, 35 to 40 members attend the weekly meetings.
“We have forgotten where we stand; we have forgotten who we are,” Randell told the 17 members in attendance. “We’re simply trying to get government within the bounds of the Constitution and the state constitutions. Our meeting group is about getting educating about your individual rights and where the government has gone beyond its original charter.”
Randell quoted US Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) from the congressman’s remarks delivered during an event at Wake Forest University on April 20. Randell and several Carolina Liberty members attended the event.
“The Constitution is there to restrain the government, not the people,” Randell said. Randell then cited several current events that he believes represent a growing citizen movement to defend against the federal government’s encroachment upon civil liberties. Randell pointed out that the Georgia State Senate passed a resolution earlier this month that affirms states rights under the Ninth Amendment of the US Constitution. The bill says in part, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people.”
The resolution, which passed the state Senate 43-1, also says that if the federal government oversteps its constitutional powers, “all powers previously delegated to the United States of America by the Constitution for the United States shall revert to the States individually,” which makes a case for states’ secession from the Union.
Randell also pointed out a bill in the US House that critics say would put small and organic farmers out of business as yet another sign that the federal government no longer represents the best interests of the people. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D- Conn) introduced House Resolution 875, otherwise known as the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, in February. The bill calls for the creation of a Food Safety Administration to allow the government to regulate food production at all levels.
Critics of the bill say it would overburden small and organic farmers in the US with excessive regulations. Critics also claim the committee of food safety experts assembled under the bill’s auspices would come from multinational conglomerates like Monsanto — the world’s leading producer of herbicide and genetically engineered seed. Further research reveals that Rep. DeLauro is married to Stan Greenberg, founder and CEO of Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research — a polling and consulting firm. According to the company’s website, Monsanto is one of its clients.
Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food and Water Watch, a national non-profit, has characterized concerns over HR 875 as “alarmist.” Lovera cited a report by Lori Robertson of Fact
Check.org that stated the legislation would not regulate seed saving,
backyard gardens or farmers markets in an article posted on Food and
Water Watch’s website. Lovera said the bill would split the Food and
Drug Administration into two agencies to handle food and drugs
separately.
The educational component of Carolina Liberty’s
meetings is what initially attracted Ross Alexander, a window washer
from Greensboro, to the group.
“I think there’s a lot of
misconceptions about the role of government in people’s lives,”
Alexander said. “I think we’ve lost touch with the true role of
government, and the true role of the citizen within government.”
Randell
said a common misperception about anti-government groups like Carolina
Liberty is they are extremists. However, the group’s stands on issues
are based on the facts, he said. “We go back to the original
documents,” Randell said. “Every stand we take is documented. The
government itself told us this is what’s going on. This isn’t something
we’ve dreamed up. It’s a groundswell movement.”
Alexander said
he supported the Tax Day Tea Party demonstrations held April 15. “The
government has to shrink,” Alexander said. “I think the protest was
more than just high taxes; it was against big government.
The
bigger the government gets, the more taxes they’re going to want. We
need to shrink government back to its proper size and role and let
non-profits, churches and individuals work within the community to help
it function and heal; government is not the answer.”
Alexander
said he agrees with Ron Paul’s platform of returning to the country to
the gold standard and abolishing the Federal Reserve.
“The
Federal Reserve has been the worst thing that could’ve have happened to
this country,” Alexander said. “Right now, they’re increasing the debt
to recreate a new bubble and the one we were in just burst. Times are
good when we’re in a bubble but people get upset when the bubble
bursts.”
Randell said the impact of the current recession has had a significant impact on the growth of groups like Carolina Liberty.
“There’s
a different atmosphere about this country. People are getting afraid of
what they’re going to lose,” Randell said. “When states are passing
states’ rights resolutions, it’s a sign of the times.”
During
his speech at Wake Forest on April 20, Ron Paul acknowledged that
citizens dedicated to his ideas of defending liberty are still in the
minority.
“Sometimes people get discouraged because they say,
‘Well, we don’t have 51 percent.’ We certainly don’t even have five
percent in Washington,” Paul told the audience. “It’s not a total
numbers game. It has to do with people being in the right places and
speaking about the right things.”
Paul went on to say that a
teacher or a writer is much more important than those who just follow
and go along and being in a leadership position is important to
advancing the cause. During the Carolina Liberty meeting, Randell
shared some personal experiences with the group that he said helped
form his opinions and attitudes about government’s role in our society.
He talked about a traffic stop several years ago that led to
his arrest. When he fought the charges, Randell said he was charged
with contempt of court but won the case on appeal. Civil disobedience
is one way to take a stand for liberty, he added.
One of the
group members asked how progress could be made in restoring citizen
liberties. Randell responded that group members should choose their
battles wisely.
He said the North Carolina public schools
don’t teach constitutional law, which is part of a larger “dumbing
down” of the populace.
“The general population is ignorant of
their rights,” he said. “The problem is that government has programmed
us that way. The constitution of North Carolina and the Constitution of
the United States has nothing to say to me. It doesn’t apply to me; it
applies to them — the government. If it’s not specifically authorized,
it’s specifically reserved for us.”
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