Abraham Lincoln talked about a house divided being unable to stand. A Constitution that protected freedom in one place and slavery in another contradicted itself. You can protect freedom only. You can protect slavery only. If you try to do both, that divided house cannot stand.

Likewise, you can have a Constitution that protects your life, liberty, and property from me taking or destroying it without your consent. You can have a Constitution that permits me to pollute and deplete, which destroy life, liberty, and property. If you try to do both, that divided house cannot stand. I’m not just stating my opinion. I wish I were.

It keeps becoming more clear to me that as long as we have a Constitution that contradicts itself on something so basic as whether or not it protects life, liberty, and property, no amount of technology, market incentives, or legislation will bring peace. We will keep hurting each other. That conflict will increase, all the more because the government benefits from permitting the opposite of what it’s supposed to protect.

You can protect freedom or you can protect pollution and depletion. You can’t protect both.

• ← One fridge may keep a meal fresh. Dependence on a refrigerated supply chain results in less fresh food and more waste.
• Honoring fallen auxiliary police officers →