The Unassailable U.S. Constitution
This is something which is known intuitively. But it is also an opinion which has been formed over decades of reading about our history; and more importantly, reading draft and final constitutional documents of other nations, and the minor documents which flank the primary conceptual frame.
Comparative analysis counts.
Years ago, I started at the lowest end of the scale for political thought with Muammar Gaddafi's "Green Book" (I threw my copy away because it was atrociously bad) and worked my way through readings of constitutional documents.
Flaws remain within British Common Law. And the deliberate unwillingness to expand freedom of expression and continued persecution of political dissent give echo to primitive political maneuvers.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has its' own ridiculous moments when reading their anchoring document. Take a moment and see how many Jews and Zoroastrians are allowed to serve within the Majlis e Shura. Discreet cough: one each. I will leave it to the readership to locate the numeric for representation allowed for Christians. Again - a deeply flawed document.
https://www.shora-gc.ir/en/news/87/constitution-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-full-text
Pakistan? Until they shed the Napoleonic era musings from their penal system, and remove the penal code designations of 295 B and 295 C - Christians will continue to have their legs broken and be tossed into blazing brick kilns.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/pakistani-court-acquits-20-men-burned-christian-couple-alive-brick-kiln.html
But back to our unassailable United States Constitution! Above all the daily "noise" lie the greater truths. The most recent noise is coming off the gavel of the Federal Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In a 7-4 ruling, the Court stated the current powers being wielded by the POTUS exceed the powers granted to the Executive by Congress. And while it seems the presidency of Donald J Trump has emerged with the strongest show of muscle between the three branches - the truth is that the very nature of the function of each branch makes it virtually impossible for us to (in any capacity) ever devolve into a totalitarian form of governance.
We get it wrong sometimes, when we speak of a "balance of power". I am not sure this is the terminology our Founding Fathers had in mind when our Constitution was brought into existence. I think we kind of settled on it; even though the phrase finds greater resonance in the diplomatic dealings of the fifteenth century Italian city-states; and today, merits greater association with international and not domestic policy endeavors.
The signatories of our Constitution were not looking for balance - but for the necessary tension. (Legal) concrete alone does not make the slab of a foundation strong. And our Constitution is the foundation for our massive Republic. But it is the tension wires - which sense the nature of shifting soil - which keep the foundation strong. This shifting soil, is the culture which each generation of Americans embraces. And just as importantly, it is the political aspirations and dreams of each unique generation.
Look at each of our three branches not as "branches" but as tension wires. These three tension wires in our Constitution each have tremendous pull. But they also have give-and-take and pressure-sensing mechanisms which can adjust and yet remain dependent on the other. Balance tension cables which are laid as part of home foundations can handle 30,000 lbs per square foot of pressure. And you want that slab to be able to move a bit with the soil, as needed. We need the pull! And we need the back-and-forth! And the U.S. Constitution can always take on the pressure. Our Founding Fathers were up to the challenge of industrial-strength thought long before We plunged headlong into our own Industrial Revolution. Visionaries: every single one of them.
Communism has no tension wires. Let that thought sink in a bit.
But America? The constant nature of how our three three tension wires make the news each day is the stuff of legend, Baby! We should not crouch in fear as we read 24/7 screedlines. But as Americans, we should stand tall and lift up a collective shout! The cloth of our nation cannot be torn. And the State of our Union - one nation under God - shall remain strong.
We have an unassailable U.S. Constitution. There are headlines. And then there is governance. Please remember that our sturdy wires of governance will prevail and hold fast: All the way from George Washington to beyond the administration of President Donald J Trump.
There will be future surprises. But nothing should be more surprising than how the very strength of our social compact remains dependent on the tension wires which keep our foundation strong.
Prior platform: https://thelastenglishprince.wordpress.com/
On X - @tammyswofford1
swoffordwrites@gmail.com
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