IDAHO CITIZENS ALLIANCE STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES PREAMBLE For over 200 hundred years the United States of American has brought more freedom, more justice, more hope and more prosperity to more people than any other nation in history. Yet today, the principles upon which this great and good republic rests are under determined attack. In the face of this crisis, we put aside other pursuits to reaffirm, with those who have gone before us, the following truths: Article 1: HUMAN RIGHTS We believe that the legitimate rights, worth and dignity of every individual are not bestowed by government, but are a gift to each individual from the Creator, and that government is instituted to secure, protect and defend these rights. Article 2: FREEDOM We affirm that foremost among God-given human-rights is the right of every individual to live their life as they choose, within the boundaries of that which is right and just, free from unwarranted interference. Government is legitimate only as long as it recognizes and safeguards this right. Article 3: THE CONSTITUTION We affirm that the Constitution of the United States, by recognizing the proper, limited role of government, and by restraining the concentration and abuse of power, is the wisest, most well-conceived arrangement yet devised by humankind for safeguarding individual civil liberties while providing for the necessary functions of government; the maintenance of internal order, national defense, and the administration of justice. The genius of the Constitution, the division of powers, is summed up in the clause which reserves primacy to the states,or to the people, in those spheres not specifically delegated to the Federal government. We believe that form of government established by the Constitution needs no revision. We also believe that the Constitution should be read, interpreted and taught according to the original construction and intent of the Founders. Article 4: PRIVATE PROPERTY We affirm that the right to private property, the right of the individual to be secure from the tyranny of others, to express reasonable opinions without fear of retaliation, to justly acquire and retain property, to retain control over property and have its value maintained, to retain and lawfully use the fruits of labor-- in wages and profits--as each sees fit, to be justly compensated when private property is taken for public use, to pass on possessions to one's posterity, and to have these rights supported and protected by government, is the foundation of a free society. Article 5: THE RIGHT TO LIFE We affirm that life is a gift from God and that life begins at conception. Abortion and euthanasia are a denial of humanity and human dignity, and must be prohibited by law. Article 6: THE FAMILY We affirm that the traditional family unit is the foundation of society. Government policy should be to safeguard the traditional family unit against those forces which tend to undermine it. Government should weigh the impact of proposed policies and legislation upon the family and adopt only those policies that recognize and strengthen the traditional family unit and the traditional moral values that are the foundation society. The authority of parents to raise their children without unwarranted interfaces is a fundamental right that must be recognized and protected. Article 7: EDUCATION We believe that society has a compelling interest in seeing that each child has the opportunity of a quality education. The education of children is first of all the responsibility of parents and parents must retain the final control over their children's education. Government must not undermine this responsibility be default or design. Public education should have as one of its primary goals the transmission and affirmation of traditional American, Judeo-Christian moral values that are the foundation of society. Government should encourage as wide a range of educational choices for families as possible. Schools must remain under the final authority of local parents and citizens. Article 8: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND VALUES We believe that the First Amendment guarantees freedom from the establishment of a state religion--not freedom from the influence of moral and religious values on American society and government institutions. Judeo-Christian religious values historically have had, and should continue to have, an important role to play in shaping American values, goals, and policies. Article 9: CIVIL RIGHTS We believe in the equal worth of all person. Discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin, or arbitrary discrimination based upon gender is indefensible. Such discrimination should be prohibited by law. We believe that the goal of American civil rights policy should be a race-unconscious society. We oppose policies that lead to reverse discrimination. We support efforts to encourage the inclusion and successful participation of all Americans without regard to race, in whatever field of endeavor they choose. We believe that there should not be laws granting civil rights protection based on behavior that is morally wrong or injurious to public health, nor should government legitimize such behavior. Article 10: FREE ENTERPRISE We affirm that the free-market economy is the most efficient supplier of human needs, is the only moral economic system, and the only economic system compatible with freedom, human dignity, and limited, constitutional government. Government intervention in the marketplace should be kept to a minimum. Article 11: THE AMERICAN WORKER We believe that all honest work, faithfully done is honorable. The work ethic of the American laborer, an ethnic of pride in a job well done, and an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, combined with the vision and faith of the entrepreneur, has made this nation prosperous. We support the right of American workers to collectively bargain and to choose whether to join a union. Article 12: COMPASSION Americans have proven themselves to be compassionate and generous people, swift to assist those in genuine need. Those in need should be helped, and with that help, also strengthened and taught to provide for themselves. Article 13: WELFARISM We believe that redistribution welfare programs create their own markets in that they tend to foster behavior that perpetuates poverty. Welfare programs and policies of then serve to undermine the family structure, and institutionalize and increase poverty, dependence, and crime. Redistribution programs also tend to foster the false and stifling assumption that some individuals are by right owed a living at the expense of the labor of others. Redistribution schemes undermine private property rights, the democratic process, individual initiative, and the market economy. Article 14: LAW AND JUSTICE We affirm that individuals are ultimately responsible for their own actions. No injustice, real or perceived, can ever justify crime against the innocent. The purpose of law is to protect the innocent and punish the criminal. Those who engage in criminal behavior must know that they will receive swift, sure, and meaningful penalties that is commensurate with their crime. Except for unusual circumstances, convicted criminals should serve out their full sentences. We support the death penalty for aggravated murder. Law enforcement personnel who break the law or violate the constitutional rights of the accused should be held accountable for their actions, but no criminal should escape the consequences of crime by legal maneuvering or upon technicalities. Article 15: THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS The right of individual citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental part of the right of self defense and is a bulwark against government tyranny. We affirm that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognizes and guarantees this right. Article 16: THE ENVIRONMENT We believe that mankind's stewardship of the environment is a sacred trust. Abuse of the environment is an affront to that trust and against future generations. Government has a role to play in protecting the environment from misuse and abuse. Plans to protect the environment must recognize that mankind too, is part of the environment, and has a right and responsibility to use and develop the Earth's resources for the betterment of all. Article 17: NATIONAL DEFENSE The first and foremost priority of national government is the defense of its people and borders from hostile forces. We believe that the United States should be willing to negotiate to reduce international tensions while such negotiations are beneficial to the interests and security of the United States. However, we affirm that the interests and security of the United States can never be finally assured by negotiations, agreements, or treaties. The freedom and security of the United States can only be assured by alert, prepared defense forces that are superior to any foreseeable threat. Article 18: STATISM We believe that ideologies that give primacy to the interest of the state or the collective over the individual, denying private property rights, are antithetical to freedom and genuine human rights. The expansion of the State represents the greatest threat to the freedom and dignity of all people everywhere. Statism, by its very nature, is a denial of God-given, self-evident freedom and human dignity. Among the ideologies we recognize as promoting statism are Communism, Marxism, Leninism, National Socialism, Fascism, Socialism, and the Welfare State. These statist ideologies are moral evils antithetical to the American system and which all freedom loving people are obligated to vigilantly and vigorously oppose. Article 19: LIBERALISM We believe that contemporary American liberalism, with its commitment to statist social engineering schemes that undermine freedom, the family, and individual responsibility, with its emphasis on socialistic confiscation and redistribution of financial resources through ever-higher taxation, and hence, ever more powerful and oppressive government, together with its continuing willingness to accommodate and apologize for the avowed enemies of freedom, is antithetical to the American system of liberty designed by the Founders, and threatens future American prosperity and freedom. Article 20: PATRIOTISM We believe that the United States, with its foundational principles of Judeo-Christian ethics, individual liberty, limited, constitutional government, and free-market economics, remains the greatest national force for good in the world Revision 3 Proposed February 3, 1993 Please note: This is the Statement of Principles for the United Citizens Alliance and its state affiliates.