The U.S. Constitution is Alive 

By Hank Silverberg

On March 4^th, 1789, after more than two years of debate and drafts, dozens of published Federalist Papers, months of political maneuvering by people named Washington, Hamilton, Madison and Jay, and separate ratification votes in all 13 states, The Constitution of the United States became our guiding document. It established the rules for governing our country and how to change those rules when necessary.  That was

(Artist rendition of the Sep 17, 1787 signing  of the U.S. Constitution) 

230 years ago as of last week.

It would be two more years (1791) before the  individual liberty of everyone who lives in the U.S. would be secured with ten constitutional amendments that we now know as The Bill of Rights. George Mason’s addition was shortened a bit before it was passed, but it’s a masterpiece that has provided us with freedom for more than two centuries.   

The U.S. Constitution is perhaps the greatest single document ever produced by man, except for the Bible, and as people in other countries have learned, without a similar document, your right to read the Bible in any of its versions, can easily be taken away.

With that in mind, I have a few questions for my readers:
   

Have you ever read The United States Constitution?

Would you have quick access to a copy of one if you needed to look it up someplace other than the Internet?

How many times has the Constitution been amended since the original was passed?

A survey done yearly indicates that many Americans have only limited knowledge of the remarkable document that grants power to, and places restrictions on, our government. I suspect that those unfamiliar with the document’s details did not take the survey.  

https://www.constitutionfacts.com/2019_constitution_day_survey/

If you look at the results, there’s some good news. For example, 72 percent of those who participated in the survey know that U.S. Senators serve 6-year terms. And 80 percent know that the population count or “census” conducted every ten years, determines how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives.  

At the same time, only 41 percent know that federal laws trump local and state laws. And only 39 percent are aware of the powers of Congress vs the Powers of the Executive (The President).

Sixty-six percent say they understand all the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, but that is low considering the importance of those 45 words in our daily lives and how we are defined as a nation.    

Why does all this matter? Or as I used to ask in my reporting days, “what does this have to do with the price of bread”?  A look at just a few issues can show just how much our Constitution is a living, breathing document that guides us every day.

Let’s start with the most important:

Our current president almost routinely calls the press “the enemy of the people,” even though the First Amendment to the Constitution, that he has sworn to uphold, guarantees a free press. In fact, it singles out the Press, making it the only profession protected by the Constitution. Yet reports this past week say Mr Trump may have tried to block a major media merger (AT&T with Time Warner) because he didn't like CNN's coverage of him. Time Warner owns CNN. 

Most people know the First Amendment guarantees Freedom of Religion.  But many people don’t understand that also means freedom from religion, making sure no one can impose their religious beliefs on you. Yet those opposed to abortion consistently cite their religious belief as their reason for opposing it for anyone.  

Because of our current divided national debate, we have heard some talk about putting restrictions on who is allowed to speak at various events or venues, even though the First Amendment also guarantees free speech. And lately we have seen serious discussions in Arizona and elsewhere about banning protests, even though the First Amendment also guarantees the right to peacefully assemble and the right to petition the government over our grievances.

(The Women's March , in Washington DC, 2017)

Looking at other issues, the President’s efforts to transfer money to build a wall along the southwest border from elsewhere in the federal budget may also be nullified by Article 1, Section 7. It clearly states that “All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives,” and nowhere in the document does it give the Executive the power to move money around the budget without Congressional approval. In fact, thanks to men like Mason, Jefferson and Washington, the Constitution places very tight restrictions on just what the President can do without consent from Congress.

Another current issue involves the upcoming Census. The Trump Administration added a question to the survey that has created a stir.

“Are you a U.S. Citizen?” It’s a question that had not been there before, and there is concern that it will chase some immigrants. illegal or otherwise, away from filling out the census. Article 1, Section 2 clearly states that census numbers will determine how many House members each state is allotted. And it also clearly states the census should count all PERSONS - everybody, citizen or not. It’s been argued that the question is designed to help states that are mostly Republican gain more congressmen because fewer immigrants, intimidated by that one question, will not answer the census and will not be counted. That could lower the number of House seats that traditional Democratic states will get.  

The U.S. Constitution, whether you are aware of it or not, has a direct impact on your life. Here are just a few other protections that you enjoy and that hundreds of thousands of Americans have given their lives to protect. 

The right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury of your peers and

the right to face your accuser (6th Amendment).

The right to protect yourself from self-incrimination (5th Amendment).

The right not to be stopped on the street and questioned without  probable cause. (4th Amendment), which is why stop-and-frisk policies by some police departments have been negated several times.

And yes, the right to bear arms (2^nd Amendment).

The Constitution also says that it is CONGRESS, not the President, which passes laws—laws governing anything that is not specifically prohibited by the Constitution, such as the type and number of weapons you can legally own.  

The Constitution is a living, breathing document. It has been amended 17 additional times after the Bill of Rights. The amendments freed the slaves (13th Amendment), and corrected our Founding Father's biggest mistake—not granting those freed people, full citizenship.  Over the years it was amended to grant EVERY citizen over 18 the right to vote, though it took four separate amendments to extend the vote to all of them  (14^th, 19^th and 24th and 26^th).

 Amendments also limited the presidency to two four-year terms, ten years total,  and established a firm succession of leadership due to death or incapacity in the Executive Branch (25^th Amendment).  

But our Founding Fathers were also smart enough to know it should not be easy to make changes. They made it hard to amend so that it would not be tinkered with too much by periodic pendulum swings in the political climate. Thirty-three amendments have been approved by Congress, but only 27 have been ratified by the states. The most notable of those not approved is the Equal Rights Amendment I wrote about in this blog two weeks ago.   

If you don’t own a copy of the Constitution in some form, you should get one. When you do, take time to read it. Some countries have tried to adopt similar documents with limited success. It is this document's firm foundation and the leaders who have sworn to uphold it, that makes us a great nation. 

It has become clear though,  over the last two years or so that some of our current leaders misunderstand the concepts they have sworn to uphold.  

         (Your comments and suggestions are welcome)  

(A signed copy of my latest book "The Campaign" can be ordered at a reduced price  by sending me an email at hsilverberg@gmail.com or you can order for retail price online at Amazon.com, BN.Com or hanksilverbergbooks.com)