Thoughts on Independence Day

Happy Independence Day ?

The United States rose from a colonial backwater to the greatest wealth creating nation on earth. Never in the history of mankind has a nation seen relative living standards rise so dramatically. Today there is a broad consensus that America is in decline. Its AAA credit rating is a thing of the past. In Washington there is no discussion regarding steps that must be taken to restore the credit rating. How can this be?

For nearly the first two hundred years of American history in grades K through 12, every child was taught the most important basics of U.S. history. At the collegiate level, the uniqueness of the American approach to self-government, which came only as a result of the American Revolution, was reinforced in greater detail. It was assumed by all American adults that anyone working in the U.S. education system knew precisely why this nation had broken away from England. And virtually everyone working in education also understood how important it was to teach each successive generation the reason.

For a couple of centuries, and on a universal basis, the vast majority of each successive generation of American students came to grasp the idea that much of the greatness of American life  is a direct consequence of the country being founded on the principle of freedom. Freedom from what? Freedom from the heavy hand of big government. There was no better example of the heavy hand of big government than the actions of George III and Parliament in the years leading up to the American Revolution.

Until about fifty years ago young Americans were taught that it was important to understand the meaning of every phrase contained in the Declaration of Independence.  Special efforts were made to help each successive generation of Americans understand why it actually took so long after the American Revolution for the U.S. Constitution to be written and the Bill of Rights added before it could finally be ratified by a majority of the states. Americans wanted guaranteed protection from the next government.

For nearly two hundred years after the U.S. Constitution was ratified the majority of American citizens emerged from their primary education experiences with a solid understanding of the document. Students and immigrants learned that the document contains very specific “CAN’T DO” language for the federal government. Citizens learned that people like Madison and Jefferson epitomized a population that was very wary of what another King George III and Parliament might do to destroy the freedoms that were bought with former colonist’s blood. Accordingly, the idea of allowing sweeping powers to fall into the hands of any government official, whether a monarch, elected politician, or judicial appointee, was unthinkable. Before a deal was made to create a new American federal government the proper language in the contract had to be included.

These days some who like to think of themselves as “modern” historians prefer to argue that the U.S. Constitution is a “living and breathing” document. The Constitution does not live or breath. It is a contract, plain and simple. It is the citizens who live, breath, and sometimes desire to change with the times and modify the contract. Accordingly, the Constitution also provides the conditions for change. The U.S. Constitution is amendable. And it has been amended repeatedly. However, the wording of the original document makes it very clear that it was never to be simply “re-interpreted,” even by a Supreme Court, so that those seeking greater governmental power and control could circumvent the basic purposes expressed in the contract. Those who argue to the contrary of this basic notion do so because they want the government to be able to renege on the contract anytime it suits their narrow purposes. These types have already collaborated to damage our credit rating. Eventually, given enough time, they will destroy the nation and we will have to fight and die for independence all over again.