The Constitution

In my opinion, the greatest problem facing America today is the division among the people of the United States. It goes without saying a team that does not have unity of purpose is generally never a winning team whether on the athletic field or anywhere else. It also seems that every major problem facing America today could be solved if only the leaders of our two major parties would come together and remain at the task until the problems were solved.

I suspect that part of our problem in America is that too many of us have forgotten our history of how we came to be the great nation that we still are today. Almost everyone I know who cares to discuss the issue of self-governance features themselves as a patriot. Unfortunately, I have discovered how few of us actually understands what true patriotism is. It starts with understanding our nation’s constitution.

I recently had the opportunity to give a brief talk concerning our nation’s constitution. One place to begin establishing the unity which once existed in America would be for more of us to understand and remember how our constitution came about and what it contains.

I would wager that less than half the people you meet on the street could explain how the Constitution can be changed or identify the Bill of Rights. Far less than half would be able to explain the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

We need not forget one of the primary reasons that a group of pilgrims found their way across the Atlantic was to escape being told what type of religion they should have or could not have. Countless people throughout history have sacrificed their lives in order to have freedom of religion and expression and be able to openly state their beliefs.

Harry Truman, one of our great presidents, was big on history. Truman’s view was that those who do not understand history will likely commit the same mistakes over and over. Truman said given any set of circumstances faced by humans is likely to follow the same or similar pattern when they occur in the future. If you truly want to be a patriot, it requires participation in democracy, not only participation, but informed participation which should and could begin with a thorough reading of our nation’s founding document, the Constitution.