Two hundred eighteen years ago, on 17 September 1787, 39 of the 42 delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia and signed the newly minted Constitution of the United States of America. Eleven days later the Congress of the Confederation resolved to submit the document to the states for ratification. The fragile, incredible experiment in self-government was underway.We are still working on it today, for self-government is something that must continually be renewed and jealously guarded, for its enemies are many, subtle, and determined. It is not foreign enemies who will destroy this experiment, but rather enemies from within, sometimes by professing the best of intentions: ?these are extraordinary times,? ?give me your civil liberties so I can better protect you,? ?we must have a ?strong leader? in these perilous times.? There is always someone who is sure they know better what America needs than what is written. There is always someone who insists on their own restricted interpretation of what the Constitution says, a literalist interpretation.
But the Constitution is a living document, written for the long haul, able to meet the challenges of a modern world the Founding Fathers could never have foreseen because it IS flexible, a general statement of over-arching principles. Remember, the Constitution marked the beginning of the end of ?the divine right of kings,? a notion that had ruled the world for thousands of years? the overwhelming, God-given right of the executive. What was this ?people? foolishness? The world laughed, then... and yet, even today we are faced with endless resurgence of the ?power of the executive? against the splintered power of the legislature or the courts.
One reason our system has lasted, through civil war and great depression, is the checks and balances of three co-equal branches of government, another remarkable invention of the Philadelphia document. The center of power has continuously shifted back and forth among the three branches, and today we are in a Big Executive phase. Given that political parties (or ?factions?) are not even mentioned in the Constitution, it is worrisome to hear members of the legislature, supporting the President of ?their? party, insist the executive must be given everything he requests, including not merely budget items and war powers, but whatever appointments he chooses to make to the third branch of government, the judiciary. The decay of adequate checks and balances, the tyranny of the majority, is today?s challenge to our experiment, and it is a serious one, perhaps even a fatal one, amounting to restoration of the Divine Right of Kings.
Remember the opening words of the Constitution: ?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.?
So, it?s up to us, the People, to keep the experiment going. Take back our Power!