On September 17th, 225 years ago, the United States Constitution was signed in Philadelphia by brave men who saw a bright future for a republic ruled by people enjoying inalienable rights given them by God.
How times have changed.
Today, most Americans think that their rights are given to them by the government and that the government defines their pursuit of happiness. The new mantra, instead of Patrick Henry’s “give me liberty or give me death!” is “give me liberty and give me, give me!”
It is alarming how many kids, when asked who gives them their inalienable rights, say, “the government.” It is also surprising how many kids do not know that America is a republic.
What is most telling and potentially devastating to liberty, however, is that so many kids, when asked what the Constitution is say, “freedom of speech!”
Of course, the Bill of Rights is a signature piece of the Constitution but its thesis dates back to Magna Carta. What is genuinely American, and what is specific to maintaining our rights, is the governing structure set forth in Articles I-VII of the Constitution.
The miraculous accomplishment of our founding fathers is that they created a checks and balances system that preserves and protects inherent rights, while encouraging justice and stability.
Without a bridle on the seductive passions of power, one branch could usurp the other and result in tyranny – thus a loss of freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, etc. This is a hard concept for the kids to grasp, and even many adults have to pause to let it register.
This dangerous lapse of collective judgment and knowledge proves how far we are we have come from our original liberty and how close we are to tyranny. Ignorance is not bliss.
A good example of an usurpation of one branch of government over another is President Obama’s recent blatant misuse of executive power regarding the contraception issue.
Beyond the obvious and striking infringement into religious liberty is the question: Should the government be responsible for the people’s sex lives? Even worse is the subtle acceptance by most Americans of “the compromise” that insists that Americans deserve “free” contraception.
Give me liberty and give me, give me.
Liberty is threatened by the selfish sense of entitlement but equally as threatening is the lack of knowledge about how our government operates.
The executive branch is not the only branch that is often blind to Constitutional obligations. It is also prevalent in the legislative and judicial branches.
The watchdog for the people, the legislative branch, has become lazy delegating too much power to executive branch bureaucrats, thus weakening the Congress and rendering the people’s voice obsolete.
The legislative branch has also become mired in the quicksand of party loyalty. Approving Supreme Court Justices based merely on party lines, not objective reasoning and Constitutional fortitude, is one example.
This has resulted in alarming decisions such as the recent 5 to 4 decision upholding Second Amendments rights (it should have been 9-0). Too much party loyalty has injured true allegiance to the Constitution, just as George Washington warned in his farewell address.
All cunning reconstructions of the Constitution other than by the amendment process should be checked by the people. If change is in order, Article V brilliantly provides for posterity the ability to keep the Constitution relevant, yet to do so we must know it.
As John Adams said, “liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.”
Janine Turner, actress, radio talk show host and founder of Constituting America, which starts a 90-day study on the Constitution’s 27 amendments this week. She is a regular Friday guest on The O’Reilly Factor. Her Twitter link is: https://twitter.com/#!/JanineTurner
