It was today, 17 September 1787, 238 years ago, that the rule of law governing the longest-running constitutional Republic the world has ever known was signed. It would be some two years later that the Constitution of the United States of America would be ratified by the 13 states. The most integral part of our Constitution that had to be added was the first ten amendments, known as our individual Bill of Rights. I first took the oath to support and defend the Constitution on 31 July 1982 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, at the Stokely Athletic Center, picture attached. My Dad and two other generations in my family took the same oath…as well as my Father-in-Law, all combat veterans.
Sadly, last week we watched a young man lose his life as he enjoyed one of those individual freedoms, the right to free speech.
Now, more than ever, we must recommit, take an oath, all of us, to the Constitution of the United States, our rule of law. We must honor the incredible work of James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. Men who read the words of the French political theorist Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, created our three branches of government. Our elected officials must abide by our rule of law, not subscribe to destructive ideologies that are the antithesis of our Constitution….Marxism, Socialism, Progressivism, Communism.
We can no longer tolerate the abject and blatant violations of our Constitution, as we saw with Biden’s open borders policy. We can no longer subjugate ourselves to a belief that the government should be telling us what type of car to drive, how much water to flush, what shower heads to have, and what appliances to own. We can no longer accept a philosophy of governance that would render citizens subjects by disarming them, denying them their constitutional right to bear arms.
Today is the day when a Philadelphia socialite named Mrs. Powel, asked a pertinent question to Benjamin Franklin…”Well, doctor, what do we have, a monarchy or a Republic?” Franklin’s response was astute and resonates today: “A Republic if you can keep it”.
The American Constitutional Rights Union, of which I am the Executive Director, gives me the opportunity to continue to honor the oath I took 43 years ago. I am now 64 and have just as much determination and vigor in keeping that promise to the American people. I challenge you today to make this promise: that you will read the entire Constitution of the United States by the end of this week. Something that simple would honor the sacrifice of so many who had made the ultimate sacrifice and given the last full measure of devotion so that “the government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth”. We honor the man who uttered those words at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
We honor Charlie Kirk, who lost his life speaking to our freedom of speech.
Happy Constitution Day, America; study it, honor it, support and defend it with all your might.
Steadfast and Loyal.
This column was published at American Constitutional Rights Union
The views expressed in CCNS member articles are not necessarily the views or positions of the entire CCNS. They are the views of the authors, who are members of the CCNS.
