Labor Day signals the traditional end of summer: then there seems to be a long, slow stretch, with holidays few & far between, until we begin building up to the Christmas holiday frenzy.

One holiday, however, is tragically overlooked by far too many people: occurring each year on September 17th, Constitution Day is the anniversary of the document being ratified by state legislatures in 1787. The Constitution of the United States is the oldest written constitution in the world today, and has served as the basis of American society for 238 years.

Many Americans have been led to believe that America is a democracy: talking heads in the media seem to love referring to the country as “our democracy”. However, a democracy is majority rule, with no rights for minorities… only privileges granted them by those in power.

Thankfully for all of us, America is not now, nor has it ever been, a democracy. The United States of America is a Constitutional Republic. The rights of everyone, including minorities, are protected under the rule of law: and the Constitution is the Supreme Law of Our Land.

Many Americans also believe the Constitution is the source of our rights. However, the Declaration of Independence asserts that our rights are endowed upon us at birth by God and Natural Law. To secure these inherent rights, We The People ordained and established the Constitution of the United States of America. Our Constitution grants no rights: it serves as a written guarantee that our rights cannot be violated without due process. The Constitution is not a restraint on We The People: it is a restraint on the federal government.

Talking heads in the media are also keen to claim a “constitutional right” to things like housing; health care; food; even a universal living wage. Do you know what rights you are actually guaranteed by our Constitution? Here’s a hint: none of those so-called “rights” are in the Constitution.

Some argue that our Constitution no longer works: that it’s an antiquated document for a bygone era. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with our Constitution. It’s not a long, complicated document: it consists of 7 short Articles, and 26 Amendments, establishing how our federal government is designed to work. The States contractually agreed to create the federal government and delegated to it 18 specific powers. The 10^th Amendment is clear that all other powers are reserved for the States and the People.

Once one understands how much our federal government has exceeded the limited powers We The People granted, it becomes clear that our Constitution no longer seems to work well because our federal government has assumed powers it was never supposed to have. OUR powers.

G. Lamar Wilkie

USN (Ret.)

Manchester