A Letter from Janine Turner re: Analyzing the Constitution

Constituting America Presents

Analyzing the Constitution

A 90 in 90 Day Forum

 

What an amazing journey! Ninety days on Constitutional studies initiated, executed and now archived on Constituting America.org! I want to thank all of the distinguished men and women who wrote essays for our forum and those who joined our blog. You brought awareness and clarity to our United States Constitution and reinforced its profundity. Your dedication to the document adds dignity to not only our country, but our cause.

It is immensely imperative that Americans both young and old introduce themselves and/or re-introduce themselves to our great American heritage and founding principles. Our United States Constitution took a confederacy of vast and varying states to a union of vision, inspiration and hope. The cobblestones that were laid with the Revolutionary War were sealed with the cement of the Constitution.  It was and is the standard from which a government, “of the people, by the people and for the people” shall never perish – as long as we seek its wisdom, respect its reason and value its principles.

As long as our words to “preserve, protect and defend the United States Constitution” fall on true intentions and knowledge of its purpose, our Republic – our freedoms and our blessing to seek life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – will remain.  If we forget, falter or forge its meaning – our country will perish. Mission critical is the call of our heritage. We must inspire and educate one another to commence and treasure civic duty, for it is, “We the People,” who will carry the torch of freedom to our posterity.

Janine Turner

Founder and Co-Chair of Constituting America

http://www.constitutingamerica.org

10 replies
  1. Leo L. Southworth
    Leo L. Southworth says:

    For it’s day and time, the Constitution was, and still is, a work of political art. Not since the Magna Carta had the limitations of a government been so defined.

    However, the Founding Fathers could not foresee the invention of the typewriter and word processor. I can imagine them looking down from Heaven observing Congress in action and muttering to themselves, “they voted, but ninety percent of them didn’t even read the bill”.

    There is, perhaps, one other thing they might wish they had devised better and that would be the procedure by which laws are subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court. The current healthcare situation is a fresh example. Congress passed the legislation, apparently without knowing what was in it and its full implications, the President signed it into law, and the Administration started expending money to implement it. Only now is it coming up for review by the judiciary who will make a determination concerning its constitutionality. While I’m certain that there is a legal opinion that it is constitutional by legal professionals advising Congress and the Administration, there is obviously an opinion that questions its validity against the Constitution. It takes two differing legal opinions to make a court case and it takes time to reach the Supreme Court as a case moves through the courts. Meanwhile, the Administration expends money towards implementation of laws that may well be declared void. Looking down from Heaven, I’d like to think that the Founding Fathers are saying, “Well, we left them something to correct.”

    It appears to me that legislation needs to be reviewed for constitutionality in a step between the passing of it by the Congress and the signing of it into law by the President instead of as the last step and then only if someone feels the need to take it into court and the Supreme Court deigns to hear the case. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Second Amendment illustrates the need for revision of the procedure. Only after the rights of the individual had been curtailed many times at many levels of government did the Supreme Court render an opinion, yet the Second Amendment succinctly states that the “right to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged”. I don’t see how much plainer the Founding Fathers could have put it in the Second Amendment unless they had written it as “Thou shall not disarm the citizens of the United States.”

    Reply
  2. A Andersen
    A Andersen says:

    Janine,
    I can’t thank you enough for the writings and insights into the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. I have a small Constitution study group and we have learned so much from the articles on your site. This has been a wonderful project.
    A Andersen

    Reply
  3. Ron Meier
    Ron Meier says:

    Thanks Janine & Cathy for two very valuable years of study of the FP and Constitution. I’ve learned much that I didn’t know – and I’m 68 years old! I’ve had opportunitites to use my newly acquired knowledge to defend our original Constitution against those who believe in a “living Constitution” and those who want to start over because they say something written more than 200 years ago is no longer relevant. I’m very impressed with the knowledge and wisdom of our founders; they knew what they were doing and why. The only remaining question is do those of us living today have the courage to fight on a new battleground to preserve what our founders knew was best for us. You’ve created many new warriors; I pray that you will continue with this program.

    Reply
  4. Ralph T. Howarth, Jr.
    Ralph T. Howarth, Jr. says:

    I now have greater confidence on Constitutional Law than ever; and it seems to be that the knowledge presented here ought to be common knowledge to the citizenry and especially the statesmen of the whole country. Thankfully the folks at Constituting America have a vision for this; and hopefully the fruit of it will bear out in these present times.

    Reply
  5. Joerg Knipprath
    Joerg Knipprath says:

    I want to add my thanks to Janine, Cathy, Horace, and Amanda for their creative and organizational efforts at putting these two projects together. I also want to express my respects for my fellow participants who wrote many thought-provoking and learned essays and postings on the Federalist Papers and the Constitution. Finally, thank you to the readers for sticking with this and contributing your responses. I know that I often found them enlightening. For myself, I truly enjoyed writing my posts (and even managed to meet all the deadlines) and am finding ways to incorporate many of them into my class on the origins of the Constitution and into my classes on constitutional law.

    Reply
  6. Barb Zakszewski
    Barb Zakszewski says:

    How quickly the 90 days passed, and sad it had to end. Thank you Janine, Kathy and the many guest bloggers for the amazing insight into our Nation’s Constitution!! I love how the Articles and Amendments were always placed in historical context. I have been telling everyone I know about this site.. Knowledge is power!! If we are to defend our Nation and its Constitution against the many forces that are seeking to tear it down, we MUST know what we are defending and why!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,!!!

    So, what’s next??

    Reply
  7. Louis Palermo
    Louis Palermo says:

    Excellent Job Janine & Juliette!! You guys were great. I called in but so did many others. My comment in response to your concern: ‘Why do so many feel that God is irrelevant to our country’. As you, I am shocked by individuals who feel this way. But let me say this:

    I think we are a religious nation. From the time of the Pilgrims, to our Founding Fathers and to the present day we believed in the existence of a supreme being. This belief was at the heart of reason, it was in our yearning for ‘Freedom’ and ‘Hope’. It gave direction to the Mayflower and was the blueprint for our founding fathers. Their fortitude, temperance and restless aspiration never accepted the status quo. They traveled a difficult path so that all could have freedom. Now it is up to us to stand with the same energy, dedication and faith. It is with such ‘reason’, ‘belief in God’ and the ‘hope for our inalienable right to be free’ that the Constitution was created. Therefore, the Constitution is sacred and should be recognized as such.

    People that make God irrelevant in our country may feel they are rational but they do not have a voice. The reality is, they are restricted by the very limitations that such virgin rationalism imposes. They should Never forget and always respect the ideals this country was founded upon. It is with this belief that this country has always been the land of Divine Providence.

    God has always been relevant and is always there. He is Reason. And we need to continue to defend reason. This is the moral dimension to the Constitution. It is with this fundamental right that we preserve ‘freedom’, and it is of my opinion, that ‘freedom’ is an element to ‘reason’, and that we continue to question authority because ‘reason’ will always prevail.

    So Keep spreading the Word.

    Reply
  8. Tim Shey
    Tim Shey says:

    I like what Louis Palermo said:

    “From the time of the Pilgrims, to our Founding Fathers and to the present day we believed in the existence of a supreme being. This belief was at the heart of reason, it was in our yearning for ‘Freedom’ and ‘Hope’. It gave direction to the Mayflower and was the blueprint for our founding fathers. Their fortitude, temperance and restless aspiration never accepted the status quo. They traveled a difficult path so that all could have freedom. Now it is up to us to stand with the same energy, dedication and faith. It is with such ‘reason’, ‘belief in God’ and the ‘hope for our inalienable right to be free’ that the Constitution was created. Therefore, the Constitution is sacred and should be recognized as such.”

    Now let us go to the Declaration of Independence and the Arab Spring. The Lord has put in mankind a desire to be free–we could call it an inalienable right to be free, or a yearning to be free. With the Arab Spring, in countries dominated by a Muslim culture (false religion), we have this same great desire to be free of tyrants and dictators. I believe the Lord is doing a powerful work in North Africa and the Middle East.

    Here is an excellent post from the blog “Jesus, the Revolution & You”:

    “the Arab Spring, ancient Egypt, & Jesus”

    http://tim-shey.blogspot.com/2011/09/arab-spring-ancient-egypt-jesus.html

    Reply

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