The Importance of the Constitution

The Constitution is obviously the most important document in U.S. government. If people would study it more, and follow its well thought out principles, our country would be better off. Why do you think almost all other free countries based their constitutions on ours?

People make a big deal about the "implied powers" clause. Here's what it actually says: "To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." This clause has been twisted to mean that government has all power to create all kinds of socialist programs. This document, along with many others, suffers from a common problem: being taken out of context.

If you look at the Constitution, you can see that the founding fathers (with a few possible exceptions; e.g. Alexander Hamilton) definitely did not want government to control every facet of peoples' lives. The 9th and 10th amendments were passed to protect people from this very danger and to make the Constitution more clear. The 10th amendment reads: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." In other words, any problems or needs that might come up should be referred to the state governments or the private sector.

People would do well to read the Constitution at least once a year. The governmental genius it contains is amazing. We don't need to modify it; it works best when it is followed exactly. It's not like the founding fathers didn't spend a lot of time debating and deliberating about it. Instead of twisting the words to mean something they do not, and taking phrases out of context; we should change the Constitution the way it was meant to be changed: by amendment. Government leaders understood this in the early days of the republic.

Take John Marshall, the Supreme Court Justice who is known for making the judicial branch a major force in government. He achieved this fame by his steadfast faithfulness to the Constitution. In Marbury vs. Madison, he realized that a congressional law was in conflict with the Constitution in the area of jurisdiction. Which authority did he choose? The Constitution, the supreme law of the land. He made many similar decisions during his service in the high court. That's interesting in contrast to the Supreme Court today, which legislates from the bench in disregard to the Constitution.

I highly suggest that children especially should be familiar with the Constitution. We should pay proper respect to this symbol of our liberty: The United States Constitution.