Great discussion.
Contrary to common belief, the Constitution is not the foundation of our country, our society, or our civilization. Instead, the laws of nature and nature’s God are the bedrock, and “We the People of the United States,” together with this patch of earth and the resources it contains, are the foundation. The Constitution is the structural foundation of our federal government, and it serves as the core structure for our governmental relationships, which are built on the foundation of we the people. But in reality, constitutional principles are just tools we use to effectively utilize the bedrock. The Constitution is intended to be the foundational tool we use in helping us recognize and adhere to the laws of nature. The Preamble to the Constitution can help us understand this:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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 Declaration of Independence, after making specific reference to the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” and the “unalienable Rights” endowed by the Creator, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, avers:
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . . [but] whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
To effectively apply these words to our current situation, we must clearly understand at least basic, core principles of the laws of nature and the foundational concept of personal responsibility. That understanding will help us better grasp the proper roles of individuals, families, communities, churches, charities, business, media, and so forth. As people and entities take responsibility for their proper roles in accordance with the laws of nature, the role of government—specifically the federal government—becomes more limited and organically falls into its proper place.
One incorrect notion that must be corrected is that it is not the job of government to save people from the natural consequences of their decisions and actions. Rather, under our Constitution, the paramount role of government is to defend, protect, and preserve the fundamental inalienable rights of life, liberty, and property. Secondary priorities include the preservation of safety and security as well as general welfare and stability, but not in opposition to fundamental individual rights. With the Tenth Amendment, our Founding Fathers sought to clarify the limited role they intended the federal government to play.
