WHY THE CONSTITUTION STILL MATTERS

Preserving our more perfect Union requires vision, responsibility and a commitment to the principles that unite us

I have loved the historical movies released as America celebrates its 250th anniversary. They remind us of those who came before us, what they endured and how easily the American story could have unfolded differently.
Through the eyes of faith, I see the breath of God and His fingerprints throughout our history.
This past weekend, we watched Young Washington, and it was excellent. The movie portrays a young, ambitious and imperfect George Washington learning difficult lessons about leadership, responsibility and character.
Great leaders must recognize the goal, communicate a vision and help others understand their role in accomplishing it.
Proverbs 29:18 tells us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
More than a decade ago, I was leading newspapers in West Tennessee during a season of rebuilding. We needed to train new employees while bringing our seasoned journalists through a changing industry.
We were introducing new technology, but we could not discard the instincts and knowledge that come only through experience. Painting a vision of where we were going and how we could grow together helped bridge gaps between generations, experience levels and different approaches to our work.
The goal was not to erase what had come before. It was to build upon a strong foundation while preparing for what would come next.
That is true in a newspaper. It is true in a community. It is also true in a nation.
Following the Revolutionary War, the young United States faced debt, economic trouble and political instability. The government under the Articles of Confederation could not levy taxes directly or regulate commerce effectively. States frequently placed their own interests above the needs of the nation.
In a 1786 letter to James Madison, Washington warned, “Wisdom, and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm.”
Washington was not yet president. He was a former commander who understood that winning independence was not the same as preserving it.
Freedom needed a foundation.
During the summer of 1787, delegates with different interests and visions for the country gathered for the Constitutional Convention. They disagreed about representation, federal authority, commerce, slavery and the structure of the government.
The Constitution produced by the delegates created a framework through which the nation could govern itself, correct its course and continue pursuing “a more perfect Union.”
Thirty-nine delegates signed the Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. They did not sign because they agreed on everything. Through debate and compromise, enough of them accepted a shared framework that allowed the new nation to move forward. The future of America had to become greater than the victory of any one delegate or state.
The Constitution begins with three transformative words: “We the People.”
It divides authority among three branches so no one person or institution can govern alone. Through the Bill of Rights and later amendments, our constitutional system protects freedom of speech, religious exercise, peaceful assembly, freedom of the press, due process and equal protection under the law.
Those freedoms are not reserved only for people who agree with us.
The Constitution does not promise that Americans will always agree. It provides a common framework within which we can disagree, debate and peacefully correct our course.
But no document can preserve liberty on its own. Self-government requires self-restraint, and our rights carry responsibilities.
My purpose in writing this column is not to divide, but to unite. Unity does not require us to abandon our convictions. It asks us to recognize that what binds us together is greater than the differences threatening to pull us apart.
Colossians 3:14 reminds us, “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
Love does not require us to ignore truth. It guides the way we speak truth, pursue justice, treat our neighbors and work through our disagreements. It reminds us that those standing across the political divide are still people created in the image of God.
As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we observe Constitution Week and remember the words placed on parchment 239 years ago. May we understand them, defend them and accept the responsibilities they place upon us.
May we have the vision to recognize what has been entrusted to us, the courage to preserve it and the love to bridge our differences.
Our Constitution begins with “We the People” because the future of this nation has always depended upon us.
United we stand. Divided we fall.