Constitution Day Reminds Us Equality Under The Law Is Fading

Constitution Day, which falls on Sept. 17, is the national observance holiday that most have never heard of. Yet this year it may be our most important holiday to understand, for all our pressing national problems today flow from corruption and a departure from governance and law enforcement consistent with the Constitution. As a result, our country is threatened more now than at any other time since the Civil War broke out in 1861.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were revolutionary political doctrines because they clearly delineated citizens’ rights and established that these rights come from God and not the state. These rights thus being sovereign and inalienable put the people in charge and subordinated the government — not the other way around. 

One genius of the Constitution was that it limited government abuse by creating checks and balances of power among three separate branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Another constitutional check was the delineation of power between the federal and state governing authorities. 

Frequent elections are yet another important constitutional mechanism limiting the extent and duration of government incompetence and corruption. This also means that the most sacred responsibility of citizenship the Constitution established is that of people to be informed, vote, and decide who shall govern. 

This combination of limiting government power and maximizing peoples’ rights made the U.S. Constitution unique — the longest-running written charter of government in human history. 

Nevertheless, when power-hungry corrupt people determine to fix election outcomes to install people who are or can be compromised, any constitution can be fundamentally undermined and circumvented, causing disaster for the people. 

We can easily see the results of political corruption that has undermined the Constitution. For instance, consider uncontrolled federal government spending, which now adds about $1 trillion to our national debt every three months, causing high inflation and risking a financial collapse. Consider also the record numbers of illegal immigrants, foreign government agents, terrorists, and armed gangs being allowed to enter the United States, with some undoubtedly becoming sleeper cells and others expropriating property and overrunning communities. Likewise, law enforcement has been compromised through defunding and politicizing the police.

Then there’s the government’s forfeiture of energy independence, radicals’ increased control of the corporate media, the censorship of American citizens, and the political weaponization of law enforcement at the local, state, and national levels against people expressing their First Amendment rights to protest and challenge government actions. 

How can anyone not see that these policies are an orchestrated effort to subvert and destroy the constitutional republic of America? 

The Constitution makes clear that everyone — whether in the public or private sector — is equal under the law. Yet today it is obvious that application and compliance with the law is blatantly unequal, relegating the U.S. to little more than a banana republic. Betrayal of elected officials’ and appointees’ oaths of office has become widespread and crosses party lines. 

In a spiritually enlightened constitutional America, government would be a good steward of taxpayer resources and avoid debt burdens on future generations. Unelected government agencies would all be downsized and stripped of their ability to make regulatory law, which is the sole responsibility of the legislature. Federal departments and agencies that could not be reformed to deliver for the American people — such as the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the CIA — would be entirely restructured and refocused. The military would be recast into armed services with esprit de corps, unmatched excellence, and training to fight and win wars. 

In a constitutional America, there would be absolute protection of the people’s rights and equal justice under the law. The First Amendment would be considered sacred and honored, which would result in a vibrant competition of ideas, creating a public square in which false political narratives and propaganda would be exposed and unable to survive. 

After the Constitution was drafted and signed by the Constitutional Convention delegates on Sept. 17, 1787, a citizen observer asked Ben Franklin what kind of government had been created. He answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” 

Today, 237 years later, Franklin’s warning is more relevant than ever because America’s contemporary enemies, foreign and domestic, have the Constitution in the crosshairs for destruction. Should we fail to elect a new accountable America First government and win the battle to save the Constitution with its Bill of Rights and checks and balances, America’s already compromised freedom and independence will be entirely lost. And so will go the rest of the world. 

Scott Powell is senior fellow at Discovery Institute and a member of the Committee on the Present Danger-China. His recent book, “Rediscovering America,” was the No. 1 Amazon New Release in the history genre for eight weeks. Reach him at [email protected].