In a previous essay, it was suggested that a significant part of a solution to our country's current problems might be found in two existing documents : the Bible, and the United States Constitution. Let us begin our examination of these two ideas with the possibility of a return to values, morals, and spiritual fulfillment revealed to us in the Bible. Lest the reader suffer some discomfort at the possibility of a confounding of religion and government, let s/he be reassured that it is not this writer's intention to suggest anything beyond the limits of the Constitution. It is clear that the Founders were specifically in opposition to the formation of any STATE RELIGION. Those Europeans who settled here long before the adoption of our Constitution came to this continent to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. The Founders recognized the threat to liberty that a State-mandated religion would produce. Some in this century have expressed fear that certain religious groups wish to usurp Constitutional freedom by imposing their religious beliefs on the entire populace. It must be stressed here that such a goal is not that of this writer, nor that of many modern day patriots who wish to return the United States to its Constitutional and spiritual roots.

It is my contention that the Founders clearly supported the idea of a religious nation, to the point of assuming a moral and spiritual population when crafting the Constitution. Individual liberty needs to be coupled with responsibility and righteousness. If it is not, the danger of harmful behavior, injury to fellow citizens, and anarchy develops swiftly. One need only to look at the recent deterioration of values, standards, and morals to perceive the resultant pain. As we have been lulled into believing that morality is relative, we have suffered increased occurance of injury, damage, and death to our fellow citizens. Where neighborhoods have lower moral standards, one finds rampant crime, poverty, and human suffering, regardless of race, class or location. Legislators feel compelled to enact restrictive laws both to attempt a remedy and to demonstrate their concern to their constituents. But can one reasonably expect an individual capable of committing a serious crime to be dissuaded by a law? Will criminals seek to register their handguns? Will someone who molests children read a statute and be thereby prevented from perpetrating a heinous act? Increased legal boundaries and sanctions, are symptomatic solutions rather than causal, and fly in the face of the Constitution, which severely limits the power of the State. It is obvious that laws must exist to some extent, to prevent harm to citizens and to define what the society believes to be acceptable behavior. Injured parties must have the opportunity to find justice. But I contend that the Founders wished to keep legislative power to an absolute minimum, based on the belief that the citizens of this fine country, being God-fearing, moral people, would be able to conduct themselves in ways as to make much legal structuring unnecessary. Recall that all are affected by legal restriction, not just those who commit the lawbreaking act. The costs of the judicial system, at a minimum, affect all who pay taxes, and there are many other financial costs as well.

Why have we not, then, considered a return to the morality and guidelines revealed in the Bible? Whether one accepts the fact or not, the United States was founded as a Christian country. That is not to say that every citizen of our land need be a Christian. That origin does suggest, however, that the traditions embraced by Christianity in its HIGHEST FORM are interwoven in the fabric of our nation. Would a true integration of the Ten Commandments into the culture be detrimental? Would the placing of God first in the lives of the people create serious harm? Have we become so knowledgeable and powerful that we can comfortably discard the wisdom of the Almighty? The Constitution prohibits the creation of a State religion, but it also favors the free exercise of religious belief. And yet, invoking the phrase "separation of church and state", some have been successful in removing, for practical purposes, religious references from nearly all of public life. How ironic it is that the First Amendment right to "freedom of speech" has come to EXCLUDE religious references, while permitting vulgarity, desecration of our flag, and pornography! Obviously, it is not the State's responsibility to bring forth religious teachings. I would challenge the citizens of this nation to throw off the blanket of silence and passive acceptance of a deterioration in moral values. We see it happening all around us, but have been shamed into silence by those for whom religious belief is a threat. As citizens, we can bring forth candidates for public office whom we know to be moral, spiritual people. We can insist that our rights to free practice of religious belief be maintained. We can teach our children and neighbors, through our example, the benefits of a religious life. The wisdom contained within the Bible is fundamental to these efforts. We need to become more familiar with this great book, in an effort to save this great nation from the moral decline that has brought countless civilizations to their demise.

ON THE CONSTITUTION : The reader might justly ask : "Why do we need to examine this issue? Isn't the United States Constitution the basis for our system of government? Is this not a superfluous effort?" We would like to believe that this hallowed document is indeed the effective structure within which our country and its government function. We place enormous trust in the hands of the elected Representatives and Senators, the President, and those magistrates, appointed and elected, whose responsibility it is to interpret the legislation passed by the Congress and signed by the President. For over 200 years, the ideas and mechanisms brought forth by the Constitution and the Amendments have brought about the most prosperous, powerful nation ever in the history of humankind. Obviously, something has worked well, and we can duly proud of this experiment. However flawed, however imperfect is our country, it is still the best place to be, if one values freedom and opportunity. This having been articulated, let us visit the darker side of the Constitution, and how it has evolved. Consider, dear reader, that the original intent of the Constitution was to clearly define the purposes and power of a Federal Government, while maintaining the rights and powers of the individual States, and of the individual citizens of those States. The Founders knew well that the benefits of unity - in certain aspects of life - could be enjoyed by all. The "Federalist Papers" contain many of the points alluded to here, and the shrewd reader would be well-advised to study that volume in depth. The Founders knew, however, the risk of empowering a government to the point where individual liberty could be jeopardized. Hence, the Constitution spells out the roles for the government, the power and responsibility of each branch of government, and the limits of this Federal Government, so as to protect the States and the individual from an encroachment of basic rights spelled out in the Bill of Rights. In theory, this is all well and good. The power to govern was to have been derived from the people governed. As with any well-written document, provisions for change exist with the Constitution. The Founders knew that some of what they had put together was open to challenge. They foresaw that the nation would grow and evolve, necessitating an evolution of the document as well. We as a society have done this, both through the prescribed Amendment process, and through the interpretation of law through the judicial branch of government. Herein lies a fundamental problem: to what extent are changes necessary and beneficial, and to what extent do we as a people seek to change the foundation of our government in an attempt to alter the vision of those who founded it, substituting instead our own selfish or misguided ideas? What happens when the citizenry becomes so poorly informed about the Constitution that it permits, in direct contrast to the vision of the Founders, government to increase in size, power, and influence, beyond that which it was originally desired to be? I would contend that the salient point at issue here is the interpretation of the Constitution, during the last 200 plus years, and how these interpretations have cumulatively brought us increasingly far away from that which our nation was created to be.

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