Celebrating Our Republic on Constitution Day, Sept.17

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Today is Constitution Day, commemorating the day in 1787 when the Founding Fathers signed that historic and precious document, the foundation of our constitutional republic.

America has come a long way since the 18th century, and while we have a great many feats of heroism and genius to reflect on with pride, we are also in grave danger of torching the Constitution altogether and destroying the republic our forefathers fought so hard to found. Founder Benjamin Franklin told a woman who asked what form of government the Constitutional Convention had decided on, “A republic, if you can keep it.” This Constitution Day, we must ask ourselves if we are determined to keep it.

Below is the famous Preamble to the Constitution:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The constitution was never perfect, because nothing created by men can be. For instance, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and their allies regretted that more had not been done in the Constitution toward an end of slavery (though, as former slave and orator Frederick Douglass noted, slavery could have been abolished without changing the Constitution, which he called a “glorious liberty document”).

That was not the only regret. Founder George Mason was not satisfied with the 1787 Constitution, but his vision for a Bill of Rights was soon realized (thanks also to James Madison), protecting such sacred rights as freedom of speech, religion, the press, a speedy trial, and bearing arms.

But, despite the original imperfections, we can say enthusiastically along with Frederick Douglass that the U.S. Constitution is a “glorious liberty document,” a work of genius that has not been equaled in history.

From the National Constitution Center, about this holiday:

Each September, Americans commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution with two federally recognized celebrations: Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. But how did these events combine[?]… Early [1900s] Constitution Day celebrations were observed by some fraternal organizations… Constitution Day activities became widely adopted at a grassroots level…

In the late 1930s, a separate effort led to what later became Citizenship Day… The event was observed on the third Sunday in May, and perhaps the biggest event occurred on May 21, 1944. A crowd of 1.5 million people gathered in New York’s Central Park… In 1952, President Harry Truman signed a bill renaming the event “Citizenship Day,” with the observed date moved to Sept. 17—the same day still observed as Constitution Day in many states and local communities… In 1956, the event was expanded when President Dwight Eisenhower included Constitution Week… in his annual proclamation.

The holiday achieved its current status in 2004 through a Congressional bill.

But now our Constitution is ignored or actively attacked. It should not be a surprise that the main party attacking the Constitution is the Democratic Party, considering that Democrats have proudly violated the Constitution in various ways since Andrew Jackson’s time up through the present day. But it is disturbing how ruthlessly and radically Democrats, with help from some unpatriotic Republicans, are undermining our most sacred constitutional rights.

Let us resolve that they will not succeed, and that next Constitution Day will be a day of rejoicing under a new administration and amidst a national patriotic revival.