Issue 1.15
There is a call in some circles to create a new U.S. Constitution at what is called a constitutional convention. The reasons cited are various but boil down to a couple of basic concepts. First, that the constitution we have is not dealing with the problems we face today and second, that the old constitution is getting in the way of doing things some of our leaders want to do now. Both of these concepts are evidence, not that the current constitution is ineffective, but that the people calling for its replacement do not understand the one we have. They especially do not understand the principles upon which our Constitution was created.
The US Constitution was based on the premise that the Declaration of Independence identified – that men (and women) are endowed (equally) by their creator with certain unalienable rights – among them life, liberty, control of property and the pursuit of happiness. Unalienable means that these are rights that are not granted by governments but are owned by every human. The only way these rights should be infringed upon is when the person in question has violated the unalienable or civil rights of another. For example, my liberty can be taken from me if I infringe on someone else’s right to live or take from them their property or violate them in some other way. Then I can rightfully be incarcerated or fined, etc.
The structure of the Constitution is impressive in its foresight, mostly because it was constructed on eternal principles rather than the motives and prejudices of those who contributed to it. The Preamble sets the foundation and lays out the purpose. The Articles set up a structure for the government that gives it the ability to act and regulate the relationships between people, between people and government and between our government and other governments. It acknowledges the tendency of people to try to gather power and profit to themselves by harming others. It lays a groundwork to minimize those actions through a system of checks and balances. The President can veto legislation from Congress. Congress can over-ride a veto if enough feel it necessary. The Judicial branch can declare action of Presidents and legislation from Congress as unconstitutional if there is cause to do so. The people can remove people from office if they do not reflect the will of the people. Congress can refuse to allow judges to be seated if they feel there are problems with the selection and can remove a President or judges by impeachment and trial if necessary. These multiple layers of accountability have protected us to a great extent from many aspiring, conspiring and tyrannical people who wanted to create power for themselves at the expense of the freedom of the people.
The third part of the Constitution consists of the amendments – specifically the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10). These guarantee that the government will not abuse or remove the rights listed there and will not allow others to do so. Some of these reflect the unalienable rights mentioned and others limit government from infringing upon personal conscience, freedoms and “social” rights such as the right of assembly, the press, free speech, etc.
Because the principles are based on truth and eternal values, they do not “go out of style” and the protections that so many of our leaders balk at are there to keep those very leaders in check and out of mischief. They are there to protect the people from the government, not the government from the people. The concept is that ours should be a government of the people, by the people and for the people. If people want to change that, we should strongly question their motives. Government not of the people is tyranny.
Finally, creating a new constitution might be okay if we had people like Washington, Jefferson, Payne, Madison, Adams, Henry, Franklin, etc. Sadly we have few if any that understand what they understood and even fewer that would put the good of the nation and the people above their personal power, prestige and party. Who would be chosen to create this new constitution? Who would choose them? Would they be the same people that have gotten us into this mess? The same ones that seem willing to discard any eternal value for political expediency? No, I do not believe this is a good idea. In a nation devoid of statesmen, politicians rule the day. I don’t believe we should let politicians determine our future and our freedoms!
Lynn West is a thinker, a teacher and a patriot. You can reach him through email at forgingthefuture2021@gmail.com or through this newspaper. Liberty is a state of being which must be continually created. These articles can help all of us discover the ways we can contribute to that outcome.