By Scott Winchell – Stand Up America US (SUA) is proud to laud the fine efforts of so many groups who promote Constitution Day, created in 2005, when Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) amended an appropriations bill to mandate that federally-funded schools teach about the Constitution every Sept. 17. This year, due to the calendar dictating that the 17th falls on a Saturday, the day is being celebrated today in schools across the nation. How it plays out in each classroom remains to be seen, and we are certain there will be many slants, but our hope is that the children will have at least one day of lessons focusing on what should be a year long lesson, civics 101.
Bring back Civics in our schools.
Never before has this day mattered more than today as the Constitution suffers almost daily erosive efforts. Fortunately, many fine folks, including those who comprise the Tea Party Movement and its focus on our founding fathers, their brave and noble intent, and the desire for limited government have helped raise awareness and to foster its re-awakening among the citizenry. Last week in the South Carolina Debate, Republican candidates pledged to uphold the Constitution, saying the U.S. government has strayed far from its origins. This is notable, but is a bit redundant since the oath of office already includes that verbiage for elected officials, especially the President. SUA however is happy to hear it being emphasized and re-invigorated in importance since so many have failed in this regard to date.
Melissa Bell of the Washington Post wrote: meanwhile, a coalition of liberal groups is pushing back, arguing that “the constitutional conservative approach represents a dangerous retrenchment of the government’s role,” Ruth Marcus wrote in a Post op-ed. The “Constitutional Progressives” want to claim ownership of governing by the Constitution, she wrote. These efforts however, are contravening to the very method and intent used to create the Constitution. Many choose to change it through enactment of laws, judicial fiat, executive pens, and regulation for the sake of the whim of the day, but the founders saw this possibility and its inevitability and purposefully set a very high bar to prevent such whimsical ways. We need to make sure we stem the erosion, and come back home to the original intent of the Constitution, not change it because some feel to restricted by its simple yet eloquent designs for control. The consent of the governed is the foundation, not the means by which to dispose of it to increase control over WE THE PEOPLE!
On this special day, SUA encourages you to speak with your family at home about why it is so important, and take the time to read it to them, along with the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Its through this reinforcement that we can help this resurgence in the interest of the American Experiment, the greatest government ever devised by man, for the sake of all men and the rule-of-law! Our future depends upon the young understanding the facts, sans anyone’s agenda and spin.
Please take the time to read it and other founding works here at SUA in our History Docs section.
Related Links:
Constitution Day: ConstitutionDay.com
National Constitution Day Center: ConstitutionDay.org
