Common Ground

July 4th

Posted by Steve Bukosky on July 1, 2012

July 4^th, known as Independence Day, has been the celebration of our revolution. Our revolution was the forcible separation of ties with British Crown rule. One of the most famous events before blood was shed was the Boston Tea Party which was a demonstration against taxation without representation. One thing lead to another and on July 4^th 1776 a group of Colony leaders penned The Declaration of Independence from England. 

War resulted. Many died. Locally the most notable is Nathan Hatch who is buried in a cemetery in Brookfield on Brookfield Road. A trip there would be a good way to remember other participants of that bloodshed that created The United States of America. 

For years now, I have felt that the celebration, not the remembrance, was improper given that our closest ally for many years has been England. I'm not sure when they went from enemy to friend but it is certainly something that I hope happens with many countries where we don't see eye to eye. It has been done with Japan and Germany. God, I pray that it doesn't require a war for these turnarounds to happen! 

But back to our revolutionary war and subsequent independence. Our leaders created The Constitution. That is the most sacred document in our country. It is for our country as the Bible is to Christians and other documents are to other religions. 

The Constitution was written by wise men who realized that the future can bring many needs and they provided for The Constitution to be modified by means of constitutional conventions and resulting amendments. What is interesting to me is not the amendments themselves but those that failed to be passed by the required ¾ of the states. 

If you take the time to read the Constitution and the history of it and of the various failed amendment proposals, I believe it would become clear to you that we as a country have taken a seriously wrong turn. Those guilty of it are an ignorant electorate producing representatives who themselves are either ignorant or dangerously wandering from the rule of The Constitution, whether intentionally or unintentionally. 

The Constitution is a document which needs no interpretation. If it isn't written in or trumped by The Constitution, then the 10^th Amendment gives the States and local government, known in The Constitution as The People, the right to do as they will. 

The recent Supreme Court ruling on The Affordable Healthcare Act is the most blatant abuse of The Constitution. Simply, if it is not written in The Constitution or in an Amendment, it is unconstitutional. The Constitutional path for it to become Constitutional is to hold a constitutional convention and The States would have to pass it. 

Laugh at me and call me a fool if you will, but I believe we are headed for a divide in our country not seen since our civil war. For us as a country to reverse this direction, it will take a new mentality. Whether you are of the liberal or conservative mindset, I hope that you can see this. 

Until then, for me, July 4^th is a day of mourning the demise of our Constitution.