For those who are still following this string of hopefully coherent thoughts, I offer a brief treatise on the notion that the Constitution is a “Living Document”.

Many of my liberal friends insist on this “living document” idea whenever I try to resort to our founding document in order to prove an intelligent argument. It appears that many of these aforementioned friends are either ignorant of the truth or allergic to an intelligent argument or (more likely) they do not understand the concept that a civil society must have a set of rules that govern our activities. This latter is exactly what the Constitution of the United States is meant to be.

The Founding Fathers understood that in order for a nation to prosper, there must be a consistent set of rules that people could count on. Prosperity does not thrive in chaos. A business person makes certain decisions based on what he/she expects the environment to be. A family makes decisions about their future based on the same criteria. When chaos reigns businesses and families will shut down future planning because of the uncertainty that the chaos presents. In business this means some businesses won’t be started, others will either cut back or not expand, some will not hire new workers while others actually lay them off. No new wealth will be created because business people cannot predict, with any reliability, what is likely to occur. The same is true of families. In an environment of chaos they will put off large purchases (such as cars or homes), postpone having children, vote in the negative for local tax levies, and cut back on spending. What I have described here is not a prosperous society, but rather one that is standing still. That is a prescription for decay and eventual decline.

In order to enjoy a prosperous society, we must have order and order starts with the government. Order is the very point of having government. People submit to a government because they desire a society in which they can prosper and realize their full potential. There is no other reason to have government.

The United States is a collection of interdependent states, banded together for mutual protection of our interests. Put another way: we are united “in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and to secure the Blessings of Liberty.” That is the purpose and function of the Constitution: to establish a government with limited powers to accomplish those goals. The dilemma in which we find ourselves today stems from our allowing that government to abuse the powers and responsibilities specifically listed in the main body of the Constitution. We have tossed the Constitution out the window.

Some of my liberal friends ask me, “Why does that matter? Isn’t the Constitution a living document that is meant to change with the times?” The answer to their questions is, “Yes and no.” The Constitution was designed to change with the times and it has been changed twenty-six times. We call these changes amendments and there is a process by which they are derived. This process is built into the Constitution itself. The problem is that many today want to change the way our society works without going through the process of changing the base document. They want to make up rules as they go. In other words, they want to perpetrate chaos upon the rest of us. Many are the problems in our society that have been caused by end running the Constitution by greedy, irresponsible legislators who ignore their limitations or arrogant, self righteous judges who do likewise. We have even seen instances where various Presidents have exceeded their powers to promote their own programs and beliefs. It is this danger that the Constitution was meant to guard against and that is why it is so imperative that we heed its direction. Granted it is not a perfect document. If it was it would not need a process to amend it. It is a very good document that gives us the basis of a civil, central government, one that will help us to achieve our goals instead of enslaving us.

Look at the spending of the federal government as an example. Trillions of dollars are collected from the tax payers and then given away to all manner of organizations and other countries (many of whom hate us). Why are they giving our money away? Taxes are collected for the purpose of running OUR OWN government, not to prop up some tin pot dictator in South America or the Middle East. Why is the federal government giving our money to our States to redistribute. Why not let the States collect what they need from the people to use as needed. That process costs us a huge premium because we must pay for the bureaucracy that the money runs through to get back to us. Why not just keep it home to start with. Even a cursory look at a federal budget makes one question the sanity of those who voted for it. We spend billions of dollars to study insects, to prop up companies that can’t make it on their own, to replace charities that used to work fine at the local level, and to promote all manner of questionable practices that often conflict with the moral values of those whose money is being used for such promotion. None of these things are powers or responsibilities of the federal government.

So why are they getting away with it? Why are they doing it in the first place? They answer to the second question is “power”. Politicians have discovered that they can gain all sorts of personal power and get rich using the government for their own interests and for the interests of those who would pay them for the consideration. Power corrupts and our government is a living example of that. There are perhaps a few honest men and women in our government today, but I submit that they are overwhelmed by those who are simply using their position for personal gain.

The answer to the first question, “So why are they getting away with it?“ is that We the People are asleep at the wheel. We have abdicated the responsibility given us by the Constitution and allowed the politicians to quietly walk away with our government. It seems that many of us are more concerned with who will win the local high school championship game than who is running our government and what they are doing with it. Many would rather memorize the batting stats of their favorite baseball team than take time to evaluate the performance of their elected officials based on the criteria set up for us by the Founding Fathers (i.e. the Constitution). Others are more interested in the lives of Hollywood celebrities than in what laws are being passed and how those laws will impact our lives. Many would rather watch Judge Judy than spend a few minutes understanding the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions. Our problem, in a word, is “apathy.”

Fortunately for us, the problem has a solution. We can take back our country and our government. We can restore our prosperity and create a bright future for our children and grandchildren. All that is required is for us to pay attention. Pay attention to the laws that are being passed and the money that is being spent. Are they powers given to the central government by the Constitution? If not then they need to be repealed and the legislators who passed those laws need to be voted out of office. If they cannot follow the Constitution they are obviously unqualified to hold their office, especially in light of the oath they took upon assuming that office. The oath for every office of the national government includes the phrase, “uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States”. Obviously, there are many who are violating their oath, an impeachable offense.

It is time for the American people to stand up to the politicians and tell them that we want our country back, that it is time they stopped violating their oaths (i.e. lying), and either follow the Constitution or get out of the way so someone honest can take the office they have abused. It is time we restored the Constitution of the United States of America to its rightful place.