Reawakening the Spirit of Constitution day: Read the Constitution – And Engage In Civic Discourse Too

Relevant Text: Constitution of the United States; 36 USC Sec. 106 (2004);Linda R. Monk: Words We Live By, Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution (Stonesong Press Books, 2004). Introduction What is a Constitution? If you have ever started a business, nonprofit, community association, or club, you probably know the importance of creating an organizational structure that meets the long term needs of your creation. When organizations employ my legal services to work with them on forming bylaws, I discuss with them questions like (a) who is empowered to make decisions for the organization; (b) who is empowered to determine the leadership; (c) what powers will those leaders have; (d) how will conflicts between members or leaders be managed; and (e) who has the power to amend the charter if need be. On occasion, members of an organization believe that the structure of their entity is so dysfunctional with respect to its grand objectives that the organization must be replaced with another. In many ways, if you have created a business, nonprofit, community association, or club, --and especially if you have done so in conjunction with others having different views of how your business, nonprofit, community association or club should be organized -- you have something in common with the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 met to form a structure to the United States government. On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed their names to their creation, concluding a 4 month convention. Subsequently, the States ratified the new Constitution. What is in Our Constitution? As stated above, the Constitution of the United States is very much like a business’s Articles of Incorporations or Bylaws. It creates a general structure for the major governing bodies of the federal government. One definition of the word Constitution is very appropriate, namely “the manner in which sovereign power is distributed.” The way in which power is distributed between branches of government may be seen through exploring the topics of each Article to the Constitution, namely: (1) Legislative Branch; (2) Executive Branch; (3) Judicial Branch; (4) relationships among the states (aka Full Faith and Credit); (5) the rights and method for amending the Constitution; (6) that the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land; (7) the method for ratification of the Constitution. When reading through the Constitution, one realizes that the text appears more focused on creating a general structure within which the government may operate, rather than in articulating or spelling out policies, theories, or methods for acting on the powers thus provided. One reading the Constitution for the first time may find themselves surprised at how much of it lends itself to interpretation, and specifically to contrary interpretations. For instance, Section 8 of Article I identifies various powers of Congress, concluding with a clause stating “ to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution...” One person may consider a particular law necessary to carry out one of the other powers identified in Section 8, and another person may consider that same power unnecessary. Thus, our government relies on the Judicial Branch to rule on disputes concerning the Constitutionality of executed laws. Thus, the extent of Congress’s power has been the subject of ongoing debate. Since the Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison, there has been unanimous or near-unanimous understanding that the Supreme Court has a right to interpret the Constitution, and hence, under Article VI. The word interpret means to declare the meaning of something. That interpreting has been going on since. A student in law school studies those diverse interpretations in a course called “Constitutional Law”, a mandatory course for all law school students. Besides learning the current interpretations of various aspects of the Constitution, one learns that the approach to the Constitution has varied over the course of many years. Thus, the norms of this generation are different than the norms of the 1920s, and so on. Thus, without a familiarity of the case law that informs our judiciary, it can be hard to fully understand how a Court would interpret a particular Constitutional passage. What is Constitution Day? In 2004, President Bush signed legislation entering into law “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.” The Statute may be found at Section 106 of Title 36 of the United States Code. According to the statute, the purpose of the day is to commemorate the formation and signing of the Constitution. Section C specifically calls for the President to invite people of the United States to celebrate the day with appropriate ceremonies. Section D of the section calls for civil and educational authorities of States and local governments to make plans for the observation of the day “and for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and locality in which they reside.” Thus, in keeping with Section D of the statute calling for the complete instruction in the responsibilities and opportunities as citizens, the best use of the day is to become familiar with the United States Constitution and the legal system under which we operate. How Should We as Citizens Celebrate Constitution Day? As a lawyer, I may be prejudiced in favor of studying the Constitution by studying the case law over time. Part of this stems from a general interest in textual analysis. Part of this is also due to what I interpret as a general misunderstanding in society about the Constitution itself. Many people on both the left and right are insistent that they possess the sole meaning of the text and that those in disagreement are knowingly lying out of self interest or political motivations. This ulterior motivation is not hard to believe. After all, a liberal advocating universal health care would not invite scrutiny into whether Congress is permitted under Article I Section 8 to create such legislation. A conservative the teaching of creationism or intelligent design in public schools would not invite scrutiny into whether such teachings was advancing religion in violation of the first amendment. There is a certain poetry one can find if one looks at these questions from a distance. One finds a government so well designed that it continues to function in the midst of such soul-wrenching disagreements. In other words, the passionate partisans advocate, they electioneer, and they interpret the Constitution to fit their understanding of what the government should be doing. However, the democratic element remains so alive and well that few fear a revolution of arms—only of ideas. A great way to understand the Constitution is to read Words We Live By, The: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution (Stonesong Press Books) by Linda R. Monk (Paperback - Feb 18, 2004). The book goes through the Constitutional language line-by-line and highlights some of the most important questions the Courts have had to address. This book is especially useful for those of us not yet familiar with the extent to which there have been so many disagreements about the meaning of particular phrasing within the Constitution. I am not, however, advocating that we spent Constitution day retreating into our dwelling with Ms. Monk’s book -- although I don’t doubt that our society would advance a great deal if the book were read cover-to-cover by all citizens. Instead, the statute of Constitution day advocates that it be a day of celebrations and a day for instructions into the responsibilities and opportunities and citizens of the United States and localities in which they reside. This goes beyond merely understanding and interpreting the Constitution. Although it would be an honest charge to call me a liberal, I don’t mean anything particularly liberal or conservative when I mean here when I say that for the Constitution to mean anything, it must come alive. Some liberals call the Constitution a living document meaning that its meaning for the day should be interpreted in the context of the day rather than the context of 1787. When I call the Constitution living, I don’t mean to engage in that question. Instead, I mean to say that the Constitution lives because it requires a democratically inclined citizenry. Although the amendments are the sources of various individual liberties, the true meaning of the seven articles lie in how engaged the citizenry in what the government does. For Article I to have meaning, the citizenry must produce individuals with an interest in productive legislation. When the citizenry is involved in legislative debates, there is a greater chance that the legislators will be required, through electoral pressure, to adequately represent the needs of their constituents. The constitution provides for elections for members of congress. When those elections involve real participation by citizen groups, not to mention those personally affected by proposed legislation, a real democratic balance between interests is possible. When only those with financial power or those of a particular interest are represented, the democratic nature of the Constitution has not been made real. For Article III to have meaning citizens must be interested in the just and fair execution of the laws, for their service on juries would be meaningless if they were easily bribed or prejudiced in favor of or against defendants of certain skin colors, political views, or economic interests. I will go so far as to suggest that trust in the just administration of justice is essential to the social contract envisioned by the writer of the Declaration of Independence and writers of the Constitution of the United States, and is an essential part of the democratic morality discussed in an earlier essay. Therefore, we should spend Constitution Day in a manner that will advance the cause of the Constitution, namely the democratic impulse and the knowledge required for individuals to engage in that democratic impulse. The statute proclaiming Constitution Day is placed in Title 36 of the United States Code. Title 36 is titled “Organizations Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, And Ceremonies.” Patriotic is defined as the adjective describing one who loves his country and supports its authority and interests. Love is defined as unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another. Therefore, for Constitution Day to truly be a day to advance patriotism and the responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States, education and citizenship comradery. A Vision of an Engaged Citizenship and Constitution Day I envision a Constitution Day that advances national dialogue. A dialogue is an exchange of ideas between two or more persons. A national dialogue is one in which all citizens in the nation feel the right to actively participate. For a dialogue to run smoothly there must be moderators that facilitate the discussion to assure that listening is occurring. Additionally, there must be individuals of various view points educated to assure that discussion does not get interrupted by the advancement of false prejudices. Thankfully, in so advocating for national dialogue, I am not envisioning anything that is not already in our spiritual constitution as Americans. In fact, the public forum is still alive and well in this country, as many city councils and representatives hold open forums to illicit opinions on potential legislation to evaluate public sentiment and impact. Thus, I want to propose a radical suggestion. Constitution Day should be a day that people take off of work and attend community meetings. One might envision a day divided in two. One part of the day devoted to community meetings that include lectures and educational programming on aspects of the laws in which we live, and another part of the day could be devoted to community meetings in which there is discourse on particular community issues of the day. It would be my hope that either any forum be designed in a manner that advanced educated dialogue. For instance, a dialogue on health care policy should feature an introduction of individuals who can explain existing laws and details about the proposals at issue—rather than a vague notion of whether the government should be involved in increasing access to health insurance. I would also hope that forums would not only concern “hot” issues like health insurance policy and gay marriage, but might engage citizens in serious discussions about housing policy, government contracting, and policies relating to the criminality of drug use and possession. PS: I hope that no reader will chose to agree or disagree with my Constitution Day proposal due to the topic examples I provide. There are a great number of societal decisions that should involve input and insight by the communities affected. Practically, my suggestion would require the existence of multiple forums occurring at the same time, thus providing opportunity to engage the public on a number of political and policy issues.