First Things

Honesty and integrity are required to be humbled by the founding documents which guide us, and the sacrifices made by many to secure them. A statesman was never intended to be a celebrity, to grandstand, or to advance their own agenda. Instead, they are stewards and representatives chosen to advance the will of the people within the confines of our Constitution.

Human nature has not changed since the wisdom and writings of Aquinas, Aristotle, or Plato. Truth doesn’t change, nor does logic or how to derive reason from logic and rationalization. The only thing that has changed is that fewer and fewer individuals are aware of or have read some of the greatest thinkers who ever lived or applied logic. Happily, it’s clear that our founders read them and incorporated such truths into the charter document that governs our country. How else would the words and ideas of some of the world’s greatest philosophers become mirrored in our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights?

What went into the development of these documents is even more astounding. The Federalist Papers, a series of 85 essays to promote the ratification of the Constitution, is a work of thought and art. It is a debate in print conducted by some of the finest young minds our country has ever known—Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay—which can be found today published in its entirety as a book. The authors used the collective pseudonym of “Publius,” (presumably to protect themselves from a version of what we still experience today—less-than-free speech and forms of “cancel culture”). They were brilliant, and sadly, operating high above the reading and comprehension ability of today’s average readers.

Back then, the words were studied with great comprehension by nearly everyone who could read. The debates were lively, thoughtful, and important. They were honest and conducted out of a passion for what they hoped would emerge as a country that was structured to foster freedom and create the greatest country on earth. They were successful. Now it’s our job to keep the Republic.

Indeed, the founders were philosophers themselves. They were also statemen. So many safeguards were deliberated and adopted by Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, John and Sam Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Jay, and others who played important roles. They didn’t come to agreement easily or take matters lightly, for they all held the same concerns of factions forming among parties, power grabs, corruption, and all those things which are inescapable given the nature of man. They were fully cognizant of the fact that guarding against abuse of power, which truly does corrupt, was essential.

For our experiment in liberty to survive the test of time, layers of checks and balances along with other prescribed remedies were in order. Although they’re in place, few people know it. Sometimes the checks and balances that are to be applied are swept under the rug as another means of manipulation and maladministration by less than admirable elected officials and agency appointees. The American people are not stupid, but some who have become intoxicated by power believe they are, and treat them as such by intentionally working to game the system rather than taking their direction from “we the people” and our Constitution.

Formal training isn’t really required for most people to understand the principals of our founding. They learn it from their parents, their pastors, their neighbors, and others who eventually provide young minds with common sense. The teachings of our parents and grandparents allow most people to develop their own moral compass—and no, that doesn’t mean they can have their own “truths.” The truths remain the same, within a moral fabric.

Many people believe our Constitution is a pamphlet that can readily fit in a shirt pocket. That’s because some elected officials brag about carrying a copy around and flash it in front of cameras when opportunities arise. That little pocket version is really just an outline of what exists today, and understanding what it means is published in a five volume, annotated set. The principles and Articles or clauses are in the pocket version, but the writing, references, amendments, and laws that support it cannot be understood from the souvenir version. Understanding what it means takes considerable scholarly effort, and as Justice Clarence Thomas so aptly explained, “It says what it says and it doesn’t say what it doesn’t say.”

Many things about the U.S. Constitution and how our government was designed to function are extremely special. Of all written charters throughout the world, ours has survived the longest. Yet, our country is still relatively young, and so this experiment in liberty is still underway. We should all strive to make it survive in perpetuity. I’m not alone in believing the reason it has withstood the test of time, as compared to those of other countries, is the very things that make it unique: that our government derives its power from “we the people;” that all citizens have certain inalienable rights; and that our Founding Fathers saw fit to provide for the separation of powers within the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Consider just the Preamble to our Constitution. From that alone, the purpose of our government is abundantly clear:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

While language changes to some degree over time, the words used in our founding documents are not ambiguous. Some reprints of the original preamble above use “defense” instead of the British spelling “defence,” and use “ensure” instead of the original “insure.” But the meaning hasn’t changed and is clear. Further in this chapter, you will see excerpts of the Declaration reprinted and may wonder about misspellings. I’m working from the original text as on file in the Library of Congress. What looks like typos are merely obsolete spellings of the same words we use today.

We are a nation under God. All of our laws rest below a higher authority. Those who may not believe in God, can take comfort in this structure also because it is what ensures our human rights and freedoms. Put another way, human rights are the rights we were born with that should never be taken away by governments. Our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, for example. The founders were all believers in God and most people in the country are, too. These are rights we possess because we are human. Religious people believe they are made in the image and likeness of God. Non-religious people may not be inclined to recognize a higher being, but they can’t deny they are human. They are human and should not be subjected to any violations of human rights.

Unfortunately, our Constitution is under constant attack. That’s because we are subject to the nature of man, as positions within government are filled by people, and people are not as reliable as the words of any charter. Many people around the globe and some right here in America do suffer violations of human rights. Our Constitution forbids such, but it’s our job to defend and uphold the Constitution. Good character, wisdom, and good will are required to govern anything. Some see America as a prize they covet for their own aspirations. Attacks upon our Constitution come in every form imaginable, including bills written by lawmakers who try to steer our country in another direction, judges legislating from the bench, and executives engaging in pay-to-play schemes.

This is exactly what our Founders imagined and warned of, and why they so painstakingly developed and ratified the Constitution. Even after it was ratified, their concerns added the first ten amendments—the “Bill of Rights.”

Aside from those documents, I must say that, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful prose ever written became part of our Declaration of Independence. Imagine the beauty and power of these poetic and true words:

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

There’s more beauty to be read here:

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.’

And in this document, the rubber truly hits the road and truth and courage don’t hide, as the conditions that warrant a revolution are outlined in the Declaration of Independence. While many people have read the document and some have well-known portions of it committed to memory, consider how relevant the following statement is today:

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security…”

It is evident how deeply our forefathers loved our country. How thoughtful and thorough they were during their deliberations was a such a valuable gift to each of us, and it is our duty to make sure our Constitution withstands the test of time.

The Declaration lists the numerous grievances which were the cause of the Revolutionary war, costing the lives of over 7000 Patriots between 1775 and 1783. That may not seem like a high number compared to later wars, but there weren’t that many people populating the newly formed colonies, and some were still loyal to the British Crown. The population of all 13 colonies in 1775 was about 2.5 million, and roughly half a million of them were slaves. Patriots were greatly outnumbered by the well-organized soldiers of Great Britain who were loyal to a country with a population of about 8 million.

What’s striking about the list of grievances contained in the Declaration is just how many similarities there are to what we’ve witnessed in American politics and governance today, especially regarding a government that does not truly work for the people.

Although the Patriots faced a tremendous challenge, they were highly motivated. Their sentiment can be summarized in the words famously delivered to the Second Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry in 1775 during his successful efforts to persuade colonists to fight for their freedom: “Give me liberty, or give me death.” As reflected in his remarks, colonists believed in divine intervention, providence, and that God and his angels were on their side.

It seems that their beliefs were well-founded, as against all odds, a free country was born. It’s not difficult to imagine how strong was their faith, for the pursuit and protection of religious and other freedoms were largely the reasons they fled Britain in the first place.

It’s for many of these same reasons that we must continue to be willing to fight to protect and defend freedom. While Civil War is a subject often revisited in some circles today, it should be our last course of action. “We the people” certainly have the power to govern this land and to govern our elected officials, but we must do it with our voices and our actions. If that fails, we certainly need to take other measures. But currently, the corrupt establishment is doing a very good job of destroying their own credibility, and we must continue to expose their hypocrisy.

It’s also critical that we secure our elections. I know there are many vulnerabilities and that many people are diligently working on fixing them. That, too, is an uphill battle when obvious anomalies and statistical impossibilities are ignored, but we must continue the work and each must do their part.

While we outnumber those who don’t respect our culture, laws, or founding, we need to work to outnumber those who hold office and other positions of power and influence, yet who continually work to undermine our beautiful country as an all-out attack upon Western civilization and civil society.

There is a wealth of talent and wisdom in America today. One needs to only read and follow some of our greatest thinkers, writers, and researchers. But given today’s political climate, many of the best have been censored. Yet, it doesn’t take much for us to find them. Some—both living and posthumously—have armies of followers, including Thomas Sowell, Milton Freedman, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and many others.

We need to shine a light on the teachings of those who have been proven right over time, and wrongfully shunned by popular culture and media for ill-conceived political agendas. We need to restore optimism, rule of law, and freedom for all Americans. This is necessary for the well-being of not only Americans, but for all people around the globe.