We Need To Protect The Constitution

The Iwo Jima Association was formed many years ago for the survivors of that battle and for the families of those who did not survive. A man in his 60’s was attending one of the association’s meetings recently. His father had died in the battle and was buried at Arlington Cemetery.

An older man in his 90’s was sitting at the table with the younger man and made the following simple statement. “I was in the first wave,” he said in a soft voice with little emotion. He went on to describe how they were being fired at by the enemy who were hidden in the trench holes at many points.

Many war movies have been made over the years and one of the best is “Saving Private Ryan.” The movie showed what the older man had experienced on the battle field over 65 years ago. Many Americans over the years have been in the first wave, have fought the enemy and lost their lives so that we can continue to be free. Memorial Day celebrated on May 31st honored these brave men and women.

Americans who have given their lives so that we might be free also gave their lives to protect our Constitution that is presently under attack by some influential officials in our country. For sure the actual document will survive but the political, legal and economic results of it will be lost if we allow these politicians to have their way.

The sad thing is that some of those “enemies” of the Constitution are those who ought to know better. Some judges, especially federal judges and particularly some Supreme Court Judges, must understand that the Constitution is a limitation on the powers of the federal government. Judges who do not understand this should not put on a robe or step onto a bench at any level.

The other group of “enemies” of the Constitution that should know better are elected office holders. Everyone in public office takes an oath, or makes an affirmation, to respect and protect the Constitution of the United States. Anyone who has not read it does not belong in public office at any level. Hopefully, all of you reading this will do all you can to see that our Constitution is abided by and preserved for future generations.

Thomas Jefferson once made the following statement, “Put your faith in man, but bind him down with the chains of the Constitution.” Please understand that his statement does not mean that the Constitution never changes. It changes through the Articles of Amendment which George Washington called “the authentic act of the whole people.” A majority of the House and Senate, a majority of the Supreme Court plus the President do not amount to “the authentic act of the whole people.” Washington meant that it should take a majority vote of the people to make any changes to the Constitution.

My service to our country was in the U.S. Army back in the latter part of the 1950’s, 18 months of that time being spent in Germany. Thankfully, there were no bullets flying or no war being fought. The brave Americans who served there during World War II had taken care of the Hitler regime for my generation and yours.

Wars that are fought with ideas have no clear beginning and no clear ending because there are major battles in which the ground shifts. This was the case during World War II and our country was blessed with great military leaders who were able to shift their battle plans in order to gain victory.

In conclusion there is no way my service to our country can be compared in the least to the sacrifices of the two members of the Iwo Jima Association, the younger man who had lost his father in the battle, and the older man in his 90’s who was in the “first wave.”

May I suggest that we find causes such as doing what we can to protect our Constitution and maybe we will be found in the forefront of worthwhile battles to help keep our country free and that way “we can be in the first wave.”