#RingtheBellsofFreedom
I know, a religious piece on the Lib? Yup.
Benjamin Franklin, after weeks of deliberation during the Constitutional Convention in 1787, seeing the lack of progress, stood, and gave a speech, pointing out that they had "not once applied to the Father of Light to illuminate our understanding?" Yes, Benjamin Franklin believed in God. Contrary to what you may have read about most of the Founders, they were nearly all deeply religious, in their own ways. Mr. Franklin went on to state that during the Revolution, not one day went by without an appeal to God in that hall.
Did you know that this year marks the 231st anniversary of the US Constitution? And that that anniversary is September 17? You didn't? I am not surprised. There are many misconceptions about the Constitution, and while most of us may know that July 4 is the anniversary date of the Declaration, few know the date in September. Pity, as some have said that the Constitution is the fulfillment of the vision presented in the Declaration.
Starting on September 15, America's Family Foundation, and others are kicking off Constitution Week, celebrations begin on the 15th, and a presentation on the 22nd, in the Historic Stone Church in Independence. The presentation will include songs, some dance performances, and narration. The chorale in which I sing will be providing much of the music. So, a few links, before continuing:
America's Family Foundation https://www.americasfamily.org/aff-ring-the-bells-of-freedom This link will provide you with specific information regarding the events of that week.
Larice Music:https://www.hymns.com/ The Beebe's store. Alice and Larry Beebe write and arrange much of the music sang by the chorale, and others. They have an extensive catalog of songs for nearly every occasion.
There is much debate around the Constitution today. Whether it should be interpreted as written so long ago, or whether it is some sort of living, breathing, malleable document, that adapts to the times. These are discussions that I will be focusing on in the next few weeks. People claim rights everywhere. And that many of those "rights" are constitutional. So can we just lay down cards here?
If the Constitution were meant to be some evolving document, then why did the Founders include a mechanism to AMEND it? After all, if it adapts, why need to amend it? Admittedly, it is very difficult to do so, intentionally so. Lost today is the understanding that the Constitution was a compact between the states, and so to change it requires a high bar, it is akin to the States renewing their compact with each other. End runs around it by Congress, Courts, or Executive Order are unacceptable.
There will be those who argue that some musty old document written by white slave owners should have no validity today. If you feel that way, then gather your support, and abolish it. Harsh? Yes. But speak clearly, and let your proposals stand the light of day. While it was crafted in a convention, it still required passage in each of the states. The Federalist Papers were articles written specifically to convince the PEOPLE to support it.
Preceding the Constitution, born during the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation literally created 13 independent states, with a weak central government that could be easily overrode, or ignored. This is understandable, they were very skeptical about a strong central government, as represented by the Crown. The flaw with the Articles, and any pure democracy is that without the central government, there could be no insurance of the rights of the people. The Articles required such a consensus that was nearly impossible to achieve, without some outside force driving the 13 sovereign states together. Thus the convention that resulted in the Constitution. Getting the delegates from the states to agree on anything was extremely difficult, and it took the presence of George Washington, and the inspiration from "the Father of Light" as Ben Franklin referred to God, to achieve it.
More to come, and so as Constitution Week approaches, we must today #RingtheBellsofFreedom to remind people of the blessings of this land, and more importantly, why.
Benjamin Franklin, after weeks of deliberation during the Constitutional Convention in 1787, seeing the lack of progress, stood, and gave a speech, pointing out that they had "not once applied to the Father of Light to illuminate our understanding?" Yes, Benjamin Franklin believed in God. Contrary to what you may have read about most of the Founders, they were nearly all deeply religious, in their own ways. Mr. Franklin went on to state that during the Revolution, not one day went by without an appeal to God in that hall.
Did you know that this year marks the 231st anniversary of the US Constitution? And that that anniversary is September 17? You didn't? I am not surprised. There are many misconceptions about the Constitution, and while most of us may know that July 4 is the anniversary date of the Declaration, few know the date in September. Pity, as some have said that the Constitution is the fulfillment of the vision presented in the Declaration.
Starting on September 15, America's Family Foundation, and others are kicking off Constitution Week, celebrations begin on the 15th, and a presentation on the 22nd, in the Historic Stone Church in Independence. The presentation will include songs, some dance performances, and narration. The chorale in which I sing will be providing much of the music. So, a few links, before continuing:
America's Family Foundation https://www.americasfamily.org/aff-ring-the-bells-of-freedom This link will provide you with specific information regarding the events of that week.
Larice Music:https://www.hymns.com/ The Beebe's store. Alice and Larry Beebe write and arrange much of the music sang by the chorale, and others. They have an extensive catalog of songs for nearly every occasion.
There is much debate around the Constitution today. Whether it should be interpreted as written so long ago, or whether it is some sort of living, breathing, malleable document, that adapts to the times. These are discussions that I will be focusing on in the next few weeks. People claim rights everywhere. And that many of those "rights" are constitutional. So can we just lay down cards here?
If the Constitution were meant to be some evolving document, then why did the Founders include a mechanism to AMEND it? After all, if it adapts, why need to amend it? Admittedly, it is very difficult to do so, intentionally so. Lost today is the understanding that the Constitution was a compact between the states, and so to change it requires a high bar, it is akin to the States renewing their compact with each other. End runs around it by Congress, Courts, or Executive Order are unacceptable.
There will be those who argue that some musty old document written by white slave owners should have no validity today. If you feel that way, then gather your support, and abolish it. Harsh? Yes. But speak clearly, and let your proposals stand the light of day. While it was crafted in a convention, it still required passage in each of the states. The Federalist Papers were articles written specifically to convince the PEOPLE to support it.
Preceding the Constitution, born during the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation literally created 13 independent states, with a weak central government that could be easily overrode, or ignored. This is understandable, they were very skeptical about a strong central government, as represented by the Crown. The flaw with the Articles, and any pure democracy is that without the central government, there could be no insurance of the rights of the people. The Articles required such a consensus that was nearly impossible to achieve, without some outside force driving the 13 sovereign states together. Thus the convention that resulted in the Constitution. Getting the delegates from the states to agree on anything was extremely difficult, and it took the presence of George Washington, and the inspiration from "the Father of Light" as Ben Franklin referred to God, to achieve it.
More to come, and so as Constitution Week approaches, we must today #RingtheBellsofFreedom to remind people of the blessings of this land, and more importantly, why.
Comments
Post a Comment