Quote:
Originally Posted by indago  "No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." — Article Five - Bill of Rights
"...nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" — Fourteenth Amendment
This country was not founded upon the principles of Communism, nor a feudal society. It was founded upon the principles of life, liberty, and private property. Of course there are limits to what one can do, so that all can enjoy their lives: ergo: noise limits; speed limits; theatre occupancy limits; building limits; and etc. But this does not mean that the State owns everything. |
Like I said, the context of the quote wasn't trying to convey the idea that the government can just seize everything you own for no valid reason. If I'm not mistaken, all it was talking about is that
ultimate ownership of property
in the United States is
by the United States (e.g. you can't declare independence of exercise beyond the law of the land). Your property may be private property but it is still United States soil. Your property is the government's
only insofar as it is within the borders and laws of the United States.
Likewise, the quote doesn't necessarily counteract the Constitution. This is why the government reserves the right to seize public property for the benifit of the public in eminent domain,
if and only if they provide just compensation (as per the Fifth Amendment) and the due process of law through condemnation proceedings (as per the Fourteenth). Eminent domain also can apply to air and water rights.
The only thing it is saying is that you and your property cannot exercise freedoms as a completely independent entity from the United States. You still own your property but ultimate theoretical 'ownership' is reserved to the state. We're not a collection of independent nations that vote in a 'super government': we're all citizens of the United States.
This is a concept that exists in every modern nation, and has existed so long as there were governments. This isn't a radical declaration, and it certainly isn't "Communist" or necessarily "feudal". It seems you're just throwing around generalizations without even knowing the true contexts of their words.