I've really thought hard about what to talk about next, but in the end, I think its very important to talk about
the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
These are, without a doubt, the two most important documents to the fabric of our nation. These are the cornerstone of everything that we believe in. If you have no idea what is in these documents, you owe it to yourself and your family to read them and understand them. They are really that important.
All elected members of government are sworn to protect these. Even the president.
These two documents, together, describe and limit the scope of our government. They also describe how things are two be done. Such as elections of certain offices and their removal.
One interesting thing that I hear people ask is why do we have a census? Well we have a census because the Founding Fathers decided that a representational government would need to have a head count of the population so to determine where legislative boundaries would be. Yes it is expensive, but without it, Powerful men in Washington would in turn decide what the population was, and my guess, is those numbers would be most self-serving. The number of members of one house of the legistlature is determined solely by the census. The people, the bigger the House of Representatives. The Senate has 2 members from each state. This was created by
the Great Compromise...a different post.
The Bill of Rights was created because it was felt the constitution needed a clear definition of what each citizens rights should be. While the constitution defines the framework of government and some basic rights, it does not clearly define what the people can expect. The Bill of Rights also constitutes the first 10 amendments to the constitution. If it is not clearly defined as a right in the Constitution, it is defined here.
Here is where I've been thinking about making this two posts, but this point is also very important. These two documents state clearly that there is to be a separation of powers with defined checks and balances. This was not created to stand in the way of justice, but to preserve it.
The United States was created as a nation run by the rule of law. Many types of government are run by the rule of man or deity. While these are neat and all, they fail to protect the most basic principals of liberty and justice. Our nation was created in away as to protect these ideas.
While congress has the ability to create laws, they have no power to enforce them. The executive branch has the power to enforce laws, but they can't create them (this is debatable - rules are one thing, but technically, not laws. Congress has given the President and the cabinet the ability to create rules). Lastly, the judiciary has the power to interpret laws and determine if laws can be enforced or should exist at all.
What about the will of the people?
The will of the people is limited by the power of the constitution. While most people believe the United States of America is a democracy, this is only partially true. We've chosen a representative republic. We elect people to represent us, and we have a constitution that prevents us from doing things that ultimately are wrong.
This concept is rather difficult to understand. To quote Spock from Star Trek - the Wrath of Kahn, "It is logical. The needs of the many out way the needs of the few, or the one." In someways this is true and important, but in others, this is just plain wrong. Our constitution defends the needs of the few or the one. Its a check on our own need for power. The majority of the people can not chose to remove the liberty of another person just because the want to. It is very difficult to make these changes for a reason.
To make an amendment to the Constitution is a very difficult process. This is on purpose. The American people have very interesting mood swings when it comes to the issues. Our attention span is short. We seem not to be able to must much change in our Constitution.
The last few amendments have all died along the way. Term limits (I would say we already have them, its called the ballot), Equal Rights Amendment and protecting the family (a veiled attempt at saying it should OK to discriminate against homosexuals) didn't have the political will to over come the difficulty in changing the constitution. Although the ERA still has a chance.
On a personal note, I'm only in favor of one amendment right now, and that's one establishing the
Writ of Habeas Corpus as a defined right in the constitution. But that's for another post.
Our entire system is designed to be a pain in the ass for the simple reason that if anything becomes to easy for one branch, the others have a source of remedy to return things to the way they should be.
All of this was started because, we the people of the United States of America want nothing to do with a king or a tyrant. No one in our great nation should ever be above the law or the Constitution. It is not a guide, it is the rule of law. We as citizens are obligated to defend this document more than we are obligated to defend our president or the leaders in Washington. At the core of our system, is the Constitution. Not a person. Not a party. But a piece of parchment. That is what we stand for and that is who we are.
Tonight, me the girls finally got Mom to take us to the movies.
