If Bush Did It

In his sixth book Judge Andrew Napolitano builds upon a common theme in his work; arguing that our rights come from our humanity and natural law, and that the government does not have the right to pick and choose our individual freedoms. “Personal liberties are integral to our humanity,” said Judge Napolitano in a phone interview with The Blaze Thursday. “Government thinks it can decide our freedoms, this is wrong.” In the Fox Business host and Fox News judicial analyst’s new book; It Is Dangerous To Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom , Judge Napolitano “documents the decline of personal freedom, warns of government tyranny, and fights for the natural rights of every American,” as described in a press release for the book has hit stores this week. Rather than writing the book through the eyes of a journalist, the Judge builds upon his career in law to present a philosophical argument. Judge Napolitano tells The Blaze that the basic theme of the book is centered on American values, and argues that “we need to remind the people we send to DC, that they cannot take our rights and liberties.” Building upon the writings of St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas to Thomas Jefferson, Judge Napolitano says the book reviews the religious and philosophical principles that underscore the concept of human freedom as the founders understood it. The book goes through moments of history where natural law was challenged, including the arguments of Thomas Moore, to 17th century British Parliament debates if the King was bigger than the rule of law, to the beginning of the book where Judge Napolitano writes of Nikita Khrushchev’s failed agricultural policy. Inspired by the Iowa-style corn-belt, Khrushchev advocated an extensive ” Maize Campaign .” Khrushchev ordered the widespread planting of corn in frozen Siberia. The ambitious initiative was a disastrous failure. A part-time farmer himself, Judge Napolitano tells The Blaze that he decided to begin the book with this narrative, for the failed policy is a perfect example that “there is a natural law that is a restraint on what government can do.” Judge Napolitano references history to argue that our natural rights and liberties are still threatened by our government today. “This President and government do not have respect for natural law, American law, or even the laws that they are writing,” said Judge Napolitano to The Blaze. Beyond Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Privacy, the Judge points to Freedom of Contract which is at times overlooked, and “severely under assault.” The new book is a call to American citizens to be vigilant in the face of coercive government, and Judge Napolitano makes the case for personal freedom and an individual’s right to disobey such an unjust government. Over the phone Thursday, the Judge pointed to the civil disobedience that brought an end to the unjust Jim Crow Laws as an example of the right to disobey, conquering government’s assault on personal freedom. Given this assertion, when asked of the protest and civil disobedience on display in Zuccotti Park and in the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement, Judge Napolitano says that some in these groups have a legitimate complaint, but as a whole have the wrong focus. “Their futures are at risk because of government action effecting capitalism,” says Judge Napolitano. “Not capitalism itself.” As the Occupy Wall Street movement has the wrong focus, Judge Napolitano tells The Blaze that he fears the Tea Party could be losing it’s narrative. While the Tea Party’s presence in the 2010 midterm elections may have led to victories for the cause of liberty, Judge Napolitano tells The Blaze that he fears the movement has been co-opted. “It’s a lukewarm version of itself,” says the Judge. “Pseudo Tea Partiers have infected the movement.” Where Judge Napolitano’s loyalties lie in the 2012 Presidential Election become evident pretty early on in the book. In fact even before the first chapter. It Is Dangerous To Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom is dedicated to Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Judge Napolitano hosts “FreedomWatch” on Fox Business, and was the fill-in host and a frequent guest on Glenn Beck’s Fox News Channel show, “The Glenn Beck Program.” Prior to joining Fox in 1998, Judge Napolitano was the youngest life-tenured Superior Court judge in the history of the State of New Jersey, and while on the bench from 1987 to 1995, tried more than 150 jury trials, and sat in all parts of the Superior Court–Criminal, Civil, Equity, and Family.

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Blaze Interview: Judge Napolitano Argues Case of Personal Freedom Against Intrusive Government in Sixth Book