Missing the Constitution, Part 1: The Constitution Says We Can

Written on Saturday, January 25, 2014 by Rebecca Wilde

No matter how old you are or what political philosophy you prefer, America is not as free as when you were born. Before any of us were born, our forefathers gave us the Constitution, not to spell out our rights, but to recognize that we have rights that are natural or God-given that the government neither grants nor may infringe. But the Constitution does not guarantee anyone anything whatsoever. Only America’s adherence to the Constitution could do that. To the extent that we see it as the unique document that it is and revere it and cherish and defend the rights it represents, it protects us, in its way. But, ultimately, it is the people in a constitutional republic who stand up for constitutional rights, if the people are to retain them.

I fear we no longer enjoy constitutional rights, rights that are God-given and self-evident. I make that provocative assertion, based not on a study of case law or court rulings, but on the way I and my fellow citizens live and look at the society around us and our government and our freedom. Lawyers and scholars can debate the Constitution’s specifics and make scholarly legal arguments, but we ordinary citizens can understand whether or not we fear the government......To Read More....