“We mutually pledge . . . our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

The Constitution
a citizen’s view

“We mutually pledge . . . our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Ask this: how many of the present Congressional incumbents would sign such a pledge? If you have been following their actions over the past couple of decades, you know the answer.

Not many!

And that in itself is a travesty with respect to what our Founding Fathers exhibited in terms of character, integrity and honesty. All are qualities sorely lacking in today’s and the past few decade’s of elected officials.

Thomas Jefferson put a great deal of faith in the good sense of the common man. Nevertheless, he went on to state, "Let no more be said about the confidence of men, but bind them down from mischief with the chains of the Constitution".

How well have we succeeded?

Not very!

All three branches of the government have turned the constitution inside-out! The oath of office required of all elected officials to “preserve, protect and defend the constitution” has become a hollow pronouncement that almost none seem concerned with upholding. The Supreme Court renders opinions that are legislative rather than judicial. Roe vs Wade stands out.

The Executive issues orders with the force of law. Yet there is nothing in the constitution authorizing such power. In a straight forward approach, Executive Orders should conform to the restraints of the constitution, not override or supplant it. Today, we have a large number “Czars”. They dictate what companies and financial institutions may do, the salaries they may pay and possibly what they can sell.

And then we look at Congress. Spineless and dedicated to only one thing – perpetuation in office. When the opportunity presents itself, they vote special emoluments to themselves, all at taxpayer expense. Their approach? Tell the people what they think the people want to hear. Once elected, do whatever they or their party decides. As Harry Hopkins said, “the people are too damn dumb to understand.” Hardly a fulfillment of their responsibilities as elected officials authorized to represent their constituencies and their interests.

That leads to the horror inflicted on the Constitutional system by the 17th Amendment. Senators now represent the people and not the state from which they come. They duplicate the House! They no longer represent and defend in the independence of the state. What happened to the “checks and balances” so carefully crafted into the original document?

Long gone!

The preponderant attitude is for every senator or representative to tell his constituents how much he or she has been able to “get for them” from the public treasury! That isn’t government. It’s a form of larceny.


As Patrick Henry put it, "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government."

Read or reread the Constitution of the United States. It is undoubtedly the most unique yet simplest document ever designed by human hand to create a nation and its government. In it you will learn that the government is yours, not theirs. You grant them the necessary power to carry out those duties you consider important, namely, defense of your country, a sound currency (oh how we have butchered that one) and the freedom to pursue happiness with minimum interference by the federal government.

Amendments IX and X are critical since they recognize and confirm the independence and sovereignty of the states and the people who reside therein. Together they underscore the concept of a federal government with limited powers and state governments with almost unlimited powers.

Unfortunately, much of this “separation” and “independence” has been usurped by the federal bureaucrats following the passage of the XIVth Amendment, ratified following the Civil War. It was supposed to insure that all citizens, regardless of race, creed or color, would be accorded equal rights, privileges and protection under the law. A discussion of the merits and fallout of that amendment will be the subject of another article.

That’s my view. What’s yours? I can be reached at 1787@comast.net.
© Copyright 2010 Hillard W. Welch