CummingHome.com Your free local source for news, events, and business in and around Cumming, GA

- Labor and industrial relations expert examines American history’s defining moments of political corruption & proposes a constitutional amendment to prevent future corruption

 “Give me liberty, or give me death.” This infamous phrase was first uttered by Patrick Henry, a prominent figure during revolutionary times and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Henry mistrusted our Constitution’s system of checks and balances and believed they would not stand the test of time. The framers of the Constitution, on the other hand, believed their system of checks and balances would be enforced through Article V of the Constitution. Article V gives the people the ultimate power of government even in the face of opposition from all three branches of the government - or so the framers thought.

In his newest book, After Patrick Henry: A Second American Revolution, retired professor Neal Q. Herrick delves into the history of American political corruption and the imbalance it has created between the power of the people and the power of their government. His brief historical account of the U.S. government’s descent into corruption identifies the flaw in our Constitution that has led our country to its present predicament. Herrick proposes the addition of a 28th Amendment to the Constitution and explains the ways this new amendment would enable our corrupt federal government to heal itself and avoid its present path to tyranny.

In After Patrick Henry, Herrick identifies two types of lawlessness that have caused the major problems our government faces today: venal and delusional corruption.

“Venal corruption favors moneyed interests over the interests of the people,” says Herrick, “while delusional corruption leads civil officers to exceed or abdicate their powers, ultimately ending in tyranny. Both forms of corruption can be traced back through American history. The damage they have caused cannot be fixed by any one party or president; there must be changes made to the basis of our governmental functions: the U.S. Constitution.”

Areas of focus found throughout After Patrick Henry include:

Article V of the Constitution and the power it gives the people to overrule the federal government

The reasons why the framers of the Constitution created a flawed system with the expectation that later generations would fix it.

 Significant milestones in American history that led us down a path to “elective monarchy.”

The importance of a specific and detailed 28th Amendment

Why the power to declare war should be returned to Congress and not be left with the President

How venal corruption in Congress has led to legislation excessively favorable to special interests

The need for young Americans to provide the energizing force behind a 28th Amendment.

 “While all of my life experiences led me to the writing of After Patrick Henry, my main credential for the task is simply that I am an American. I hope that all those Americans reading my book will accept their own equal standing on all constitutional issues and their equal responsibility for dealing with these issues.”

Neal Q. Herrick has learned about the economic and political systems of the United States as a retail clerk, auto worker, Gandy dancer, reporter, door-to-door salesman, soldier, sailor, football coach and, most recently, visiting professor in industrial relations at the University of Michigan. Herrick was the head of the intergovernmental task force which drafted the Occupational Safety and Health Bill submitted to Congress by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. He worked on joint labor-management projects aimed at applying constitutional principles to the workplace for more than 20 years. In May 2009, After Patrick Henry was awarded the IPPY gold medal for “Best Book of 2009” in the “Freedom Fighter” category. Herrick resides in Boydton, VA.

After Patrick Henry: A Second American Revolution by Neal Q. Herrickis available for purchase at www.amazon.com and www.borders.com.