There are planks in both major party platforms in this country that support certain logic expoused by both the pros and cons of legislation controlling abortion, the death penalty, and the many aspects of fighting terrorism. All three are deadly important issues that lie at the root of the principles of a free society. Arguments can be compelling and work to convince legislators and electorate alike to choose a wrong course of action from which recovery is almost impossible. The ideal would be that all could easily weigh future ramifications against seemingly justifiable legislation to mandate a change, but, as we all know, most people spend more time on the rationalization of their positions than on methodical problem-solving for the future.

We have generally made such a mess of discussing both abortion and the death penalty that many assumptions have been rationalized as facts. Lost are the concerns of individual freedom, personal liberty, individual responsibility, and fierce defense of the precious guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. Let me give specific examples.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have all been infringed in the name of science, government, and imagined security. Life must now be defined by science in order to be protected, liberty must be sanctioned by government in order to be validated, and the pursuit of happiness must fall within politically correct guidelines or it is condemned. Those are the facts. Assumptions would lead us to believe that bearing children is an affront to women who view their sexual priorities in terms of recreational rights, instead of responsible family building. The same can be said for men. Liberty is a word assumed to mean a government-granted privilege, instead of an inalienable right, and too many citizens cannot define the difference. Happiness is assumed to be dependent on whatever can be provided by society with the least amount of respoinsibility placed on the individual.

If the justice system worked like it was designed to, "innocent until proven guilty" would provide all the protection that the great majority of the accused would need to secure for themselves acquittal if they are innocent and a just conviction if they are guilty. Since the system has been corrupted, however, we find less attention paid to the facts of any case, and far more "bartering" for "legal" deals that all too often leave justice out of the equation. It is no wonder that so many doubt the validity of a death penalty when it is obvious that such a corrupt system allows the guilty to go underpunished and the innocent to be at the mercy of a deal gone wrong. If the system were fixed, the punishments would fit the crimes, instead of reducing court cases to the equivalent of haggles over a used car purchase!

Crime and punishment have long been studied by great minds and defined by small ones. Part of living free includes a peace of mind that is hard to find in these convoluted times of innocence punished and guilt ignored. The criminal element of society, both defined and undefined, continues to grow in defiance of a compromised system of laws. Murder is commonplace, as is deliberate injury, thievery, and assault on human value. Terrorism is all around us, even as it invades from foreign lands and slips past our checks and balances via "government rule" to upset even the innocents' peace of mind.

What is the only thing that will hold the criminal element at bay and return the power of the individual back to the individual? The only thing that can do this in any human society: Crime is halted and criminals are culled through punishment of the guilty. Heinous crime, terrorism, and assault on human value must carry a severe sentence. People must know that they cross the line of inhuman behavior under penalty of death. Inhuman behavior is not an ambiguous term, but rather an accepted measurement of evil. Death is its only cure. When one individual or group of individuals take it upon themselves to wreak havoc on the peace, liberty, and happiness of others, they have crossed that line and they deserve to know they could die. This extends to those leaders of hostile countries who would attack America from within or externally. They may use "suicide bombers" supposedly willing to die for their cause, but you can bet their leaders do not want to die! Therefore, they must be dealt with under penalty of death. It is the only thing they will understand.

I have read reams of comments by well-meaning, humane individuals who devote their lives to seeing that the death penalty is abolished from society's laws. Their priorities are so obviously skewed it is no wonder that they will be ill equiped to handle the impending assault of terror. Instead of having the guts to place blame where it belongs--on the heads of the evildoers--they go out of their way to accept rationalizations for behavior that has no excuse. In doing so, they leave the door wide open for infringements on the peaceful behavior of innocents as a way of attacking those who would be guilty.

I, for one, am tired of it all. I'm tired of justifying a stance against evil, a rejection of infringement on my God-given rights, and an attitude that comes from a responsible sense of patriotism. I'm the "normal" one who only wants to be left alone to make my own personal decisions, as long as those decisions do not involve causing anyone harm. I'm tired of human value being determined politically and measured by a monetary system of debt that bears no resemblance to the prosperity our Forefathers envisioned for us. I'm tired of my efforts being overtaxed, overscrutinized, and overruled by a bunch of elites who have no interest in humanity's well-being. I'm tired of being preached to by pompous, self-righteous fools half my age, (and older), who haven't a clue what is about to happen to my America. I'm tired of life being penalized, while death is given a free range amomg the innocents, and too many haven't the brains or the guts to require guilt to face the same sentence. I'm tired of oaths being ignored and lies being woven into a blanket of tolerance we are all supposed to cover with.

If we do nothing else in this country, we'd better find our way back to the U.S. Constitution--the constitutional document which took the value of the individual into consideration, as it placed limits on the power of those who would be our rulers. People who cannot read and understand the Constitution have no excuse, and those who choose to openly defy it have no justification. America must reject the continuing assault against her free and peaceful citizens, and give notice to those who would threaten us that they do so under penalty of death.

Deborah Venable is author of the book, THE PROFESSIONAL PARENT.

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