By Tilton

Wisdom comes with age because older people have lived experiences and learned from them. And yes, the young can have wisdom – but only because they’ve been forced to live a lifetime in their short years.

This is one reason the U.S. Constitution is by far the finest centralized governing framework ever written. The body of the Constitution was written with wisdom by delegates desiring alignment, coordination, and synergy among the various member Nation-States (the Union). To prohibit the emergence of totalitarianism, the delegates designed the framework to include the distribution of power among three check–and-balance branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

However, this wasn’t the concern of the States and people who were required to approve (ratify) the new constitution. The people were concerned with the distribution of power between the new central government and themselves. Wisdom grown from experience guided the people via their State Legislatures to mandate changes (amendments) to the proposed constitution that restricted the power of the new central government – and provided the States with the power to enforce the restrictions.

When we read these ten amendments (the Bill of Rights), we can see that the people specifically describe personal freedoms that are off-limits to the central government. For example, let’s take the controversial Second Amendment that says, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

This amendment is very clear. It states that each state in the proposed new Union has the right to maintain a “deterrent military power” via its armed citizens. This deterrent power is to ensure the security of the State and its people against the threat of an armed central government. In other words,  the people had the right to keep and bear arms – and the State had the right to “regulate” (order) its people (militia) to take up their arms in defense of their personal freedoms (and the sovereignty of their State.)

“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence. To secure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that is good.” — George Washington

Therefore, it seems that the Constitution of the United States specifically and deliberately established two separate distributions of power. The first is a distribution of governance among three branches within the central government. The second is a balance of military power between the States and the Central Government.

Many uninformed people will venomously disagree with the above interpretation – and insist that when the word “state” is used in an amendment, it is referring to the central government. In other words, it is the central government that has the power and authority to “regulate” the armed citizens.

However, if you consult the Constitution, you will find that the word “militia” is used four times in the main

From: http://www.westernjournalism.com/constitutional-balance-of-power/