Constitution Day, Sept. 17, the day Americans celebrate the signing of the Constitution, which was then sent to the states for ratification, is almost here. The numerous attacks on it, its founders, and the anarchy in our big cities today should give us cause to reflect upon what a gift it was and still is to mankind.
For nearly six thousand years of recorded history, governments best described as regimental in nature have dominated man. Only for a few fleeting moments in the past has an individual man had anything to say concerning the restrictions placed upon him. Under an occasional benevolent monarchy or an unconcerned king, man has, in rare instances, been left to himself as in Athens, Rome, Runnymede, or in Philadelphia, unusual moments allowing individual freedom to flourish for a time.
Until 1787, man did not know how to free himself from excessive government -- the enemy of true liberty. The Constitution harnessed government as never before. Now its wonders are everywhere apparent: magnificent material things, an abundance of food and unheard-of leisure, etc. No society upon the earth has been more greatly blessed. None worked so little for so much. The last hundred years have brought such gifts to mankind which only the insane would have supposed possible 200 years before, and truly America has become, for those willing to work, the envy of all the world -- the land of the rich. Even the poorest among us have had a standard of living exceeding the vast majority that ever inhabited the planet.
The genius of the American Constitution, other than harnessing the government rather than man, is that it incentivized individual labor and creativity which unleashed tools, which unleashed abundance as never before. Probably at least 80% of the inventions of the planet have come from our soil.
The one message the present generation has not seemed to grasp is that freedom can be lost -- even in a single generation. Today we have that generation, oblivious to history, natural law, common sense, morality and the Constitution, and likely the most unchurched, a generation believing themselves entitled to someone else's wealth, the most privileged residents of the earth who have never themselves fought for their own freedom and yet are now poised to lose what others died to give them, perhaps the most ungrateful and ignorant people ever!
They argue for such things as a green new deal which nullifies airplanes, automobiles and tractors, no borders which protect us from invading masses, and reparations which make the present generation pay money to descendants of those offended 160 years ago. These Neanderthals oppose self-defense by opposing the Second Amendment while simultaneously supporting defunding of police which, for those who can still think, means no police and, which together, means no protection for the most vulnerable in society. These would destroy America.
The greatest irony of all human history is that once man, with God's help, finally discovered the formula for liberty for all, the Constitution, a small portion of this privileged class, university intellectuals and the superrich like George Soros, using millennials and students as useful idiots, seek to destroy it for the rest of humanity, perhaps forever.
Following the Civil War, which ended slavery, America was and is today probably the least racist society ever created and was so prior to the Obama administration. If indeed America is racist, a Black man (Obama) never could have become president, and a Black woman (Kamala Harris) never would have been nominated for vice president by a major political party unless there was no hope that her nomination could lead to her election.
This group of history and cultural illiterates have no problem voting by violence. In previous months, major Democrat-led cities have allowed, even encouraged, acts of anarchy, robbery, pillage, rape and violence against police and small businesses. Antifa and Black Lives Matter easily infiltrated the demonstrations of sincere folks naively thinking themselves advancing social justice, and the result was and is buildings and cars ablaze and injured law enforcement officers and citizens. Media outlets on the left refuse to cover such, leaving the few on the right to show victims kicked in the head -- such is the divide. Bring an "All Lives Matter" sign to a Black Lives Matter gathering and you can expect a beating.
Their obsession with racism, now mostly nonexistent, has resulted in their tearing down statues of our greatest constitutional founders, those most responsible for the very freedom the anarchists enjoy. Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of The Declaration of Independence, which allowed our freedom birth experiment, was torn down by a small mob in Portland, Oregon. Four days later, in the same city, the same befell the statue of George Washington, our Revolutionary War general, president of the Constitutional Convention, and first president that made liberty and the Constitution possible. Revolutionists draped the American flag around his neck, set it afire, pulled the statue to the ground, placed another flag over his head and back and set it afire too. These anarchists, their party, and all supporting them hate America, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and liberty for all.
Yes, the miracle of the Constitution eventually created the freest and most prosperous society known to man. Ironically, it is the sons and daughters of these, the most privileged ever, that, if not stopped, will destroy it! Remember! Remember what we have in place before we follow those who choose to lose it!
Harold W. Pease, Ph.D., is a syndicated columnist and an expert on the United States Constitution. He has dedicated his career to studying the writings of the Founding Fathers and applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for more than 30 years at Taft College. To read more of his weekly articles, visit www.LibertyUnderFire.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.