PERIL, AS WE APPROACH THE ARTICLES

  Posting 8

(With apologies to J. Duzarf)

To the readers:

Having overviewed the elements within the Preamble to the United States Constitution, we now undertake the task of summarizing its Articles proper. Yet such an undertaking carries with it a certain degree of peril, peril that has existed since the genesis of our country, a peril that shall be addressed shortly.

The basics of the Constitution are relatively straightforward: seven articles dealing with the set up and role of Congress, the Presidency, the Courts, and the States, plus the process for amendments, general matters, and the approval of the document. This is followed by 27 Amendments, the first ten of which are the Bill of Rights.

To say that the United States Constitution is unique among world legal documents would be a bit of an understatement. Its identity of government defies much of common thought:

o   It is, at once, a federal government and a collaboration of state governments, simultaneously balancing the rights of these smaller units with the functioning of one national entity.

o   It is a democracy, but only in the general sense that the people can govern themselves. In reality, the United States of America is a representative Republic, in that these people can select and change the leaders, who then represent their interests.

o   It is a government of checks and balances. The three branches of government (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial) are perpetually engaged in a dance of sorts in their roles. The Legislature passes a law, but the Executive (the President) can approve or reject it. If the President rejects the law, the Legislature can override that veto. The Judicial branch can rule on laws and actions taken by the President and Congress, but the President can appoint and the Congress must approve those justices.

So it would seem that each branch of government checks the power of the others, balancing said power so that no one branch can become too strong. It almost seems to this writer that the founding fathers may have wanted to head off the problems inherent in the expression, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In short, it seems like one of the fundamental strengths of the system of government laid out in the United States Constitution is its somewhat cynical view of human nature and its mechanism to keep these natural cravings for power under control.

To be certain, our founding fathers often engaged in spirited debate—some would say raucous arguments—over the shape of this government. This writer will leave it to historians and scholars to explain, clarify, vilify, or defend the assertions of these sessions. In the end of it all, the people—we the People—did ordain and establish this Constitution of he United States of America, a document that has stood for over 200 years.

But the peril did not end at our country’s founding. Indeed, the arguments have taken a more somber turn, as modern minds and modern movements would seek to dismiss the foundational principles of this document. This is not always the work of nefarious “villains,” lurking in the shadows determined to destroy our society. No, indeed; but the determination to diminish and deter our founding principles frequently comes from the popular and the admired, from the influencers whose opinions on any subject are considered expert, from even the very representatives of our government, who, knowing the grand Constitution, nevertheless would call for its dismantling. And there are those whose zeal to “save” this great country propel them to ignore the damage they do to the Constitution. The bad arguments, the over-simplified and under-applied rhetoric transcend political affiliation.

To blazes with peril! Let us continue to talk about the Constitution, if for no other reason than to remind ourselves of its splendidness in its totality or in its components.

by Aplo