There has been a lot of talk in recent months about the Declaration of Independence and its role as our nation's founding document. It is true that the Declaration effectively ended the English colonies relationship with the mother country, but it isn't really the nation's founding document. That document would be the United States Constitution, a document that was written some fourteen years later, after the failure of the Articles of Confederation. Those Articles were focused on preserving the independence of the various colonies and did nothing to create a real nation, in part because it lacked a unifying legislature and executive with power to connect the rather disparate colonies.
Whereas the focus of the Declaration is on freedom, the Constitution has a different focus -- limiting those freedoms in ways that allow for a nation to be born. As we near elections there are a variety of movements, from Tea Partiers to Anarchists who seem intent on unraveling the ties that bind us. As I wrote recently recently, the dominant narrative of the nation seems to be radical individualism. But is this the narrative that undergirds the Constitution?
As I've noted in other posts, I am involved in faith-based community organizing. The principles of this effort include building strong relationships, for in these relationships there is power. Thus, this effort requires interdependence.
With this in mind, and thinking about our current political landscape where considerable effort in moving us in a different direction I found a most intriguing book on faith based congregational organizing entitled When Faith Storms the Public Square by Kendall Clark Baker. Baker writes:
It took fifteen years for this process to unfold. It was not until 1791 that the Constitution, including its first ten amendments, was adopted and a new government was clearly defined. What we ended up with in many respects was a significant departure from, or at the least a considerable restriction of, the original democratic enthusiasm of 1776. If the United States of America memorialized its beginnings in an observation of the ratification of the Constitution, a more apt name for this holiday would be Interdependence Day. [Kendall Clark Baker, When Faith Storms the Public Square: Mixing Religion and Politics through Community Organizing to Enhance our Democracy, (pp. 71-72).]
Baker notes that clergy might be interested in this idea of interdependence, because the core values of our congregations include freedom with responsibility for each other. It is a primary value that undergirds community organizing as well, for the point of this effort is building community.
As we head toward the upcoming elections, I'd like to have us consider how we can follow the principles of the Constitution and celebrate our interdependence for a moment. I think it's a value that does connect with important biblical values as well.
Reposted from Ponderings on a Faith Journey.
This is a very succinct but accurate statement of the differences between the Declaration and the Constitution. Few know the difficulties experienced under the Articles, the difficulties and disagreements in writing the Constitution, the narrowness of votes for ratification, and broad efforts to obtain the Bill of Rights. Few also know that God is never mentioned in the Constitution or that the original Constitution prohibits any religious test for any office. The debates during the convention resulted in votes that kept religion out of our most basic law. While individuals and groups disagreed and continue to disagree about the relationship of government and religion, in law religion was and remains not a government function but a personal journey, not to be encourage or impeded by government. Individual officeholders should not promote their religious views and beliefs. Officeholders can practice their religions, but should not do so in the public square or in their official capacity.
Now that the evil and corrupt, neo-Nazi controlled United States Supreme Court has undermined fair elections, the meaning of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence or Interdependence is meaningless. Fancy words and speaking to heaven will not save this country now, since those out to destroy this country serve no god, only money and power.
It’s interesting how you seem to ignore many of the principles of freedom contained in the Declaration of Independence, our nation’s first foundational document, which argued for the rights of Englishmen for the colonists and gave reasons for the separation from England. Are you dismissing it altogether because it doesn’t fit your paradigm? The Constitution was an improvement on the Articles of Confederation, which were too weak to govern the country effectively. Have you read any of the Federalist Papers, which argued for the ratification of the Constitution? Both the Articles and Constitution were built on the principles from the Declaration, which does mention a Creator. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Both the Declaration and Constitution are foundational: the Declaration contains principles and ideals, the Constitution contains the government's organization, and the first ten amendments (the Bill of Rights) have protections for religious liberty, free speech, the right to bear arms, etc. We are interdependent, but we must also not give up our liberty for security.
Where you aware that the Founding Fathers incurred a rather large national debt? It was seen as an unfortunate necessity in a time of extreme national crisis. And talk about changing the argument to fit YOUR paradigm: you can't resist any opportunity to throw your version of the Creator in there. The fact is, the country was never bound together until the constitution was ratified, that was the point of the Pastors article, regardless of your efforts to reframe it and change the subject to fit your agenda.
The constitution is the law that governs liberty. Liberty is that tiny area of personal infringement allowed to protect freedom for all. This is a paradox and impossible. In other words, you can't have almost absolutes or total freedom except for (fill in the blank), thus the ideal of anarchism. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anarchism What/whose interests are they protecting now? Follow the big money.
To Dale, my point here is that the Declaration, though it separated us from England and set us on a course to becoming something new and exciting, it was not and is not a governing document. The first step was a much more open, small government, states-rights centered document -- the Articles of Confederation -- it didn't work. In fact, the US was moving quickly toward becoming still born or failed state. The Constitution isn't an perfect document -- it was the product of compromise -- but it provided a foundation for governing the nation as a whole. So, if we're going to talk about governance of the nation and what it should look like, then the Constitution is the starting point, with the Declaration reminding us of the importance of freedom. I should point out that Jefferson and the signers of that document had a narrow vision of who was equal -- white males.
It took people of faith like John Newton and William Wilberforce in England to end the British slave trade. America paid the price in a bloody civil war after abolitionists fought against it to finally end the evil of slavery. In those days women were thought to be able to influence their husbands (they still do), but now everyone has the right to vote, and they should. Man’s formation of a government is going to be imperfect. America’s form of government is the best the world has yet seen. It has the world’s oldest and best constitution. We need to follow it and amend it by its proper procedure, not by ignoring it or trampling it underfoot. We’re looking at the same thing from different angles, Bob. It’s all good when mixed together in God’s providence. He knows what He is doing and we can trust Him, in spite of our error-prone efforts to do the right thing.
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