We Have A Constitution

Our country's founders cherished liberty, not democracy.
-- Ron Paul

Constitutionalism proclaims the desirability of the rule of law as opposed to rule by the arbitrary judgment or mere fiat of public officials. -- David Fellman

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. -- Oaths of Office For Federal Officials

In a prior post, I expressed my disbelief at the reaction of the Speaker of the House to a simple question. I've had a couple of months now to think about this, and to make sense of it in light of, well, the oath of office and the apparent disregard for the document. She's hardly alone. I am sure that very few congressmen can be shown to support the constitution. However, by blatantly discrediting the fundamental rule of law, there is little left to stand on.

Many persons, citizens and politicians alike view the constitution as this quaint historic document, and not the law of the land. Our forefathers sweated over this very thing for many years. History had proven, indeed many times by then, that a nation of men would always become corrupt and despotic. That the only way to avoid that same morass was to make it a nation of laws. That is what is important about the costitution. It is a great document precisely because it lays out that which is necessary to define a great country.

Obama was right to identify it as a collection of negative liberties. It could not, should not, and can not be anything else. What is remarkable is that he, too took the oath of office without so much as a hint of irony, and without any intent of upholding it. He wants it to remain an artifact of the past, and discount the application of its principles and provisions in today's society.

It's not that the constitution of the United States is outdated. If it was, we'd have to write a new one, wouldn't we? The constitution has within it not only the historical record of how this country became great, but also the principles by which we are governed today.

I believe you can name a federal government in 15 pages, which is what the constitution and all its amendments are comprised on. Everything the government must do is listed there. Everything else belongs to the states, or the people.

When you look at it that way, that the owners manual for the US government is only 15 pages, you wonder why so many of our government officials are unaware of its provisions. If they can't read and understand the first 15 pages, no other bill that follows has a chance of being constitutional.