Friday, September 16, 2016
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Constitution Day
Tomorrow is Constitution Day, marking the 229th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, described by some as “America’s owner’s manual.” Increasingly, however, the American people are neglecting to read this important document, and too many of our leaders are ignoring it.
I want to share with you excerpts of a speech President Ronald Reagan delivered on September 18, 1987 on the 200th anniversary of signing of the Constitution. Reagan described the Constitution as a “covenant with mankind” meant to ensure our freedom by limiting the power of government, an idea we must rediscover.
“As we stand here today before Independence Hall, we can easily imagine that day, Sept. 17, 1787, when the delegates rose from their chairs and arranged themselves according to the geography of their states, beginning with New Hampshire and moving south to Georgia. . .
“In fact, the Constitution and our government were born in crisis. The years leading up to our constitutional convention were some of the most difficult our nation ever endured. This young nation, threatened on every side by hostile powers, was on the verge of economic collapse. . . Trade disputes between the states were bitter and sometimes violent, threatening not only the economy, but even the peace. . .
“No, it wasn’t the absence of problems that won the day in 1787. . . It was the presence of something higher — the vision of democratic government founded upon those self-evident truths that still resounded in Independence Hall.
“It was that ideal, proclaimed so proudly in this hall a decade earlier, that enabled them to rise above politics and self-interest, to transcend their differences and together create this document, this Constitution that would profoundly and forever alter, not just these United States, but the world.
“In a very real sense, it was then — in 1787 — that the revolution truly began. For it was with the writing of our Constitution, setting down the architecture of democratic government, that the noble sentiments and brave rhetoric of 1776 took on substance, that the hopes and dreams of the revolutionists could become a living, enduring reality. . .
“Checks and balances; limited government — the genius of our constitutional system is its recognition that no one branch of government alone could be relied on to preserve our freedoms. The great safeguard of our liberty is the totality of the constitutional system, with no one part getting the upper hand. That is why the judiciary must be independent. And that is why it also must exercise restraint.
“If our Constitution has endured, through times perilous as well as prosperous, it has not been simply as a plan of government, no matter how ingenious or inspired that might be. This document that we honor today has always been something more to us, filled us with a deeper feeling than one of simple admiration — a feeling, one might say, more of reverence. . .
“It is a covenant we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind. . . It is a human covenant, yes, and beyond that, a covenant with the Supreme Being to whom our founding fathers did constantly appeal for assistance. . . It is a dedication of faith to the humanity we all share, that part of each man and woman that most closely touches on the divine.
“And it was perhaps from that divine source that the men who came together in this hall 200 years ago drew the inspiration and strength to face the crisis of their great hopes and overcome their many divisions.
“After all, both Madison and Washington were to refer to the outcome of the Constitutional Convention as a miracle; and miracles, of course, have only one origin.'”
Ronald Reagan also warned us that “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” It must be fought for and protected, Reagan warned.
My friends, we must fight for our freedoms!
Use Constitution Day to remind friends and family about the importance of good citizenship. Make sure they are all registered to vote.
Talk to them. Engage them. Help them understand the dangers we are facing today.
Religious liberty is under siege like never before.
The Second Amendment is one vote away on the Supreme Court from being effectively repealed.
Political correctness is blinding us in the fight against radical Islam.
We face great challenges today, just as we have in years past. But we can prevail. We can make America a shining city upon a hill!
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