By KrisAnne
Hall, Guest Columnist
When a woman
asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of government had been created by he and the
other gathered founders, Franklin famously replied, “A Republic, if you can
keep it.” One key to keeping that Republic exists in understanding how
the Constitution was designed to function.
The Constitution
of these United States is not arbitrary. It is a document of
standards established to keep the GOVERNMENT
from becoming arbitrary. These
standards were not invented by
the men who created the document. These standards were axiomatic truths that
had proven themselves for over a millennium. Many of these truths can be found
in five historic liberty charters, the very charters that gave birth to
America’s founding documents. The US Constitution is not an invention. It is an
inheritance. Those who claim that America’s Constitution is vague,
arbitrary or even irrelevant do so because they are uneducated about where our
Constitution came from and why it was formed.
The US
Constitution and the government it created are designed to protect Liberty. This purpose is declared in the Declaration
of Independence and recorded in the Pre-amble to the Constitution. The Bill of
Rights (the 1st 10 amendments) was incorporated into the
Constitution to trigger an alarm when this liberty is being threatened.
And yet, nothing in any of these three documents is an invention of the men who
wrote them. Everything, every principle
of government, every security to Liberty and even at times the very language
itself was taken from lessons learned during more than 700 years of history and
from five essential Liberty Charters. It is this history that proves the
Constitution is not an arbitrary, “living, breathing” document, but rather one designed
from blood-bought lessons learned during the historic struggle between liberty
and tyranny.
Once this
history is understood, today’s oft-repeated claim that the Constitution is
irrelevant falls away and we begin to see not only how the Constitution is
designed to limit government and preserve Liberty, but why we must adhere to
this standard. The “living, breathing document” deception can only exist
by eliminating these historical truths and isolating men from their own
history.
Originalism,
or original intent, means looking at the history that gave us our founding principles
and realizing why they are important; it means understanding the Constitution
in its historical context. This is the only way to ensure that this government
operates to preserve the essential principles of liberty. For to ignore the
origin of our constitutional principles is to invite the same threats that
prompted the necessity of their creation. To throw off the lessons of
history invites despotism and inequality, apathy and corruption, slavery and
oppression.
Originalism is our shield against slavery, masters and oppressors. Originalism not only understands these essential principles of liberty, but embraces them, with the full knowledge that Liberty was the stated goal of the designers of the Constitution. Originalism is not only the correct legal way to apply the Constitution, it is the only way that guarantees and secures Liberty.
Originalism
declares, “we don’t care what the mob says, we don’t care what the powerful
say, we will ensure that all are treated equally with dignity. We are not
ruled by mob mentality, but by the principles of Liberty because we know our
history.”
A “living
breathing” constitution, however, is arbitrary. It creates government
that is dependent upon current social trends and the will of the
powerful. In many ways it is just another name for “Banana Republic.”
A living constitution allows those in government to claim that, since there
were no cell phones in 1789, they have the right to arbitrarily control communications. A
living constitution allows those in government to decide that since there was
no Internet in 1789, they may define who is a journalist and what maybe said.
A living constitution
gives power to the oppressor through interpretation by the powerful, the
majority or the deceptive. It is a distortion history. So if the majority
or the powerful decides that one group of people deserve less or more
protection, less or more property, less or more liberty, there is no recourse
for the powerless or the minority. A living, breathing constitution is
slavery.
History and
the Constitution are the fixed standards for government. If we forget this, we
are left to be ruled by the powerful or at the whim of a majority which would
distort history and truth. If we don’t understand the essential
principles of liberty and where they came from, we cannot evaluate and ensure
that solutions to tyranny are proper and not tragic. Some call these
unseen consequences, but when you can see through the lenses of history you
know that they are not unseen; they are proven facets of human nature.
There is no
magic pill. History and truth tells us there is no quick fix. If we
truly want to make America great, we must reacquaint ourselves with some
essential truths. Without these foundational building blocks, we cannot
achieve the successful ends we are all looking for and we continue to spin our
wheels, haphazardly maneuvering government, sometimes to good ends, sometimes
to destruction. Our problem is that our policies are not driven by these
foundational principles, but instead are driven by the phantoms of prosperity
or security.
Our
Constitution is not arbitrary and neither are the solutions. They are
time tested and essential. The designers of our Constitution put these
solutions in our hands. It was the greatest gift they gave us…the
opportunity for self-governance. It’s time we remember who we are and the
power that we hold. I am convinced that reconnecting with this truth will reignite the lamp of liberty.
Let’s learn from history so we will not be doomed to repeat its mistakes. Let’s
stand for liberty today so our children will not have to bow tomorrow.
KrisAnne Hall is an attorney and former
prosecutor. Hall hosts weekly radio and TV programs and teaches an average of
265 classes in over 22 States each year on the Constitution and the Bill
of Rights. KrisAnne is a disabled Army veteran, a Russian linguist, a mother, a
pastor’s wife and a patriot. Learn more at krisannehall.com.
The
Language of Liberty series is a collaborative effort of the Center for Self
Governance (CSG) Administrative Team. CSG is a non-profit, non-partisan
educational organization, dedicated to training citizens in applied civics. The
authors include administrative staff, selected students, and guest columnists. The views expressed by the authors are their own and may
not reflect the views of CSG.
Contact
them at CenterForSelfGovernance.com
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