"We The People..." and all Those Pesky Propositions

The United States Constitution is a document so beautiful that it implies divine intervention.   It is the law of the land.  Simple in form and only 4 pages long in its original hand written form, it created our government, allowed for change, and, most important of all, preserved to the states all matters not mentioned in the Constitution itself.  

This preservation of power for the states is a key part of the document, and it does so with both subtlety and grace.   For example, in Article 4, Section 4 the constitution states, “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government.” The states are guaranteed the right to their own representative body of government.  Laws are not only to be made by the states, but their right to do so is guarded by the federal government.  There is a clear implication that the government will always be answerable to the people.  The consummate good sense of this document is an important reason why the United States is the oldest republic in existence.

            The writing of the Constitution showed a certain cosmic alignment of intellectual stars.  Gouverneur Morris probably wrote the eloquent words of the Preamble.  James Madison (Dolly’s diminutive husband) is generally called the, “Father of the Constitution” though his efforts might be more akin to those of a midwife, with much pushing, pulling and exhortations to ever greater effort.   He was certainly aided by the enormous talents of the men who worked with him.  George Washington headed the commission.  Benjamin Franklin was a moral presence.  While the twin geniuses of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were in Europe their good works were ever present.  Adams had written the Massachusetts constitution which proved a working model as did the New York constitution written by John Jay.  I can’t imagine where we would find that kind of honest, disciplined brain power today—certainly not in the current Congress.

Yet, with all due and sincere respect to our Constitution, its very existence hides an ugly truth.  That truth is this: every law, from a constitutional amendment to a city ordinance, represents a failure of mankind.  If we always did what we should, if we behaved as we ought, if we all lived lives of exemplary circumspection, there would be no need for laws of any kind.  Instead of laws applied externally, and conceived after the execution of a wrong, we need simply to act as Immanuel Kant described in his categorical imperative, “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”  A codification of laws always represents the inability of mankind to behave in a morally justified way. 

We are uniquely sentient creatures.  We know right from wrong.  We can anticipate the consequences of our actions.  We can hope for right thinking and right action but we also know that moral living is a tenuous tug of war between animal instincts and our human probity.  Most of us try to live ethical lives, but we know that we can fall short, and that not everyone works as hard at morality as we do.  So we have laws.  We may not like them, but we need them, we have them, and the alternative is anarchy. 

      Yet, there is a certain laziness that accompanies the casual statement, “There ought to be a law…”  Actually, there ought to be good works, sober judgment and accountability for ones actions. The addition of laws is a tricky thing.  If a law is being advocated to accomplish a larger good it is justified.  If, on the other hand, the law imposes an injustice on one group while benefiting another, it is not a law but moralistic manipulation.  A law that does individual harm rather than universal good both steals liberty and corrupts government.  Laws are grand things and should do grand works. 

            Examine the issues before you vote, and keep the faith.