Sean C. Capparuccia
Sept. 16, 2022 – Constitution Day address delivered at DAR-sponsored event in Clinton, NC
Happy Constitution Week. And thank-you to the Daughters of the American Revolution for their efforts in keeping alive the memory of the most important war this country ever fought, the struggle for its own birth, and the memory of the Patriots who fought in it. The DAR also exists to keep the importance of our nation’s founding documents in the forefront of our minds. And maybe it’s only in the forefront of the minds of people like you who come to the Constitution Week kick-off; and maybe even then it’s in the forefront of your minds for only a day or maybe even the week. But I fear, that despite this national organization’s commitment to honoring this vital document, all too many in this great country fail to give it much thought at all. But what many are failing to understand is that the United States are great because of this document and the great care that went into producing it.
Since Europeans first came to this New World and began taming its wild lands – with help from the peoples who already lived here – there has been a steady stream of progress in building this great civilization. Not without its problems, no doubt; not without its failures, history proves. But mankind is a fallen creature, and whenever two or more fallen creatures get together, there will be problems. Take the most basic element of society – any society – the husband and the wife. Two creatures covenanted together to love, honor, and cherish each other and committed to work together to raise a family in order to perpetuate the name and the ideals, a legacy, to future generations. But I have never heard of a marriage without problems. There will always be that tension between needing dependence and wanting independence.
The first settlers grew in number; generations passed, and new settlers arrived. The allure of the New World drew many adventurers from their native lands; many fled here escaping persecution in their homelands; some were sent here as a punishment as though America (which would one day be the “Land of the Free”) was considered by some countries to be a penal colony, a place of banishment; and others were brought here quite against their will as they were gathered up in their own lands and sold to slave traders when that particular industry was quite intolerably tolerated.
But no matter how or why people came here – and continue to do so – it is what gives this nation its unique flavor and greatness. Because here, for the first time in history, was a Republic, where equality among people reigned… at least theoretically – slavery notwithstanding, which is a whole ‘nother topic. And the word was equality not equity, which has a completely different meaning. The law applies equally to all Americans; no one is above the law or beyond the rights granted from the weakest infant to the President – that’s equality. But no one deserves more than they are willing to work for – that would be equity.
When it came time for these United States to finally declare itself independent from the mother-nations which colonized it, Great Britain in particular, it was not without great strife and calculation. There was one consensus: we must be our own nation, not subservient to any other nation; free to make our own laws; free to progress as we see fit. But there was great debate in just how to do that in the best way to ensure these freedoms for all generations of Americans to come. And just what kind of government would it be? – a question that Benjamin Franklin famously answered by saying, “A republic; if you can keep it.”
It would behoove us to understand that our nation was never intended to be a singular monolithic unit. The great 19th century classical scholar and philologist, Basil Gildersleeve, remarking on the Civil War, said that this “war was fought over a single point of grammar. Shall we say, ‘The United States is…’ or ‘The United States are…’”[1] And we can draw a direct line, a direct correlation, between the American Revolution and the Civil War, which was the result of the festering problems unresolved in the framing of this nation. Because you see, our nation is made up of smaller units called States, each with its own constitution and laws and ways of doing things. Now, this issue was not lost on the great men who drew up the Constitution. But they knew this much: for the United States of America to succeed they needed to band together.
In 1775, the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the people realized it was now or never. In May of 1776 the Second Continental Congress instructed the States – 13 at the time – to write up their own state constitutions. Basically, draw up your covenants so that when it hits the fan, you’ll have your affairs in order. Two months later, in July, the Continental Congress delivered a blow to Britain – the thirteen United States of America unanimously declared “that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES … And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” In other words, “From this point on we are no longer under your authority. And with God’s help we will remain free and if you mess with ONE of us, you mess with ALL of us.” The States were, in essence, a band of brothers. But there had to be a plausible way to keep that band together and a means of operating decently and in order. They couldn’t have all these States completely autonomous and independent from each other or chaos would eventually break out and destroy the very thing they had just fought for. So, while the War was still going on, they put together the Articles of Confederation, which loosely governed the 13 States. When the War ended in 1783, our Congress saw the weakness of the Articles of Confederation in governing a large nation and spent the next five years deliberating, writing, debating, revising, and finally passing the U.S. Constitution in 1788.
The main point of contention in the framing of this new nation, this republic made up of the several States, each with their own governance, was the extent of the authority of the federal government. The War was just fought over securing freedom from a tyrannical government and the Framers of the Constitution went to extremes to avoid another tyranny. Oftentimes we are all too short-sighted when it comes to planning things for the future. Someone gets a great idea for a wonderfully benevolent organization, and all is great until the founder retires or dies and the leadership is in the hands of a descendent or a board who may or may not agree with all of the founder’s principles. Then it’s not too long before the organization, which once did great things, is now self-serving, inward-focused, losing support and money, and finally disenfranchised. It happens all the time. And it usually happens because there is a lack of a strong Constitution prepared for the future and an erroneous belief that people are basically good. We’d like to think that people are basically good but neither God’s Word nor human experience bears that out. Human nature tends to be self-serving, and the Framers knew this and weren’t afraid to confront that sad reality.
Every structure in society has a leader: a family; a church; a business; a city; a county; a state; and a nation. Obviously, in many of these cases no one person rules alone, thank God. But now I ask you, have you ever seen a bad parent; an ungodly pastor; a greedy CEO; or elected officials that should not have been elected? Of course, you have. And it would be grossly naïve to assume that everyone will be good and wholesome and just great at what they are supposed to do. But this isn’t a sermon on the human condition or even the remedy to that condition, namely Jesus Christ. Rather, it is to point out that the Founding Fathers knew this very well and ensured that a Constitution was written that would, with God’s help, prevent the government from succumbing to tyranny.
Listen, wherever there is government, there is money and there is power. Yes, even in a marriage: isn’t that from where most of the marital arguments come? And in a nation, there is great wealth and power. In America, there is tremendous wealth and power.
With that in mind, the Framers wanted a nation where the freedom of the people was guaranteed, and the threat of tyranny was minimal.
As Americans we tend to be very centered on our rights – our rights as individuals. We point to the Bill of Rights – our right to free speech (which incidentally is under attack); our right to bear arms (which incidentally is under attack); our right to report and discuss with truthfulness what our government is doing (which incidentally has been largely suppressed); and our right to religious freedom (which incidentally is also under attack); and several more rights we have as American citizens. Yet, as we read the Constitution, we find that it’s not just about the rights of the people, but it is also about the limitations put on the Federal government. Again, the Framers did not want their descendants, or any other freedom-loving person who came to this country, to have to live under tyranny. So, they attempted to put measures in place to that end.
It is important to see the difference between Federalism and Centralism. Federalism is the distribution of power between a central authority and the constituent units. Centralism is the concentration of power and control in the central authority.[2] Both have their advantages; both have their drawbacks. And this was the crux of debate in the forming of our nation. Thankfully, Federalism, a limited government, won out; again, because a Centralist government could quickly lead to tyranny. So, the Framers drew up our Constitution with this in mind: each Article tells the Federal government what they are to do. No more. In other words, if it isn’t in the Constitution, the Federal government does not have the Constitutional power to do it. And if the Federal government doesn’t have the Constitutional power, it must go to the States themselves. The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution states it plainly, “The powers not delegated to the United States (the Federal government) by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” And thus, we have the problem of things being unconstitutional, a term which has been bandied about quite a bit in the last decade.
By and large one of the most glaring examples of this is the recent issue concerning abortion. It doesn’t matter where you personally stand on the issue; it isn’t a Federal prerogative! Constitutionally, our Federal government does not have the authority to make a right to abortion or not having a right to abortion a “law of the land.” Each State has that authority. It could be legal or illegal in all 50 States, but it cannot be a Federally mandated “law of the land.”
And infants’ rights are just one issue. If we understand our Constitution as it was meant to be understood, which is not too hard to do, we will find many instances where our Federal government has usurped the prerogatives of the States with their overreach. Here are just a few:
Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof (Article 1). Humanism is a religion, often veiled under the guise of unproved science, and is mandated by the federal government to be taught in public schools; whereas, Christianity is virtually forbidden in the same.
The Department of Agriculture is unconstitutional.
Regulating healthcare is unconstitutional.
The Department of Education is unconstitutional.
The Department of Energy; the Department of Health and Human
Services;
The Department of Homeland Security (falls under Defense, not a
separate Dept.);
The Department of Housing and Urban Development;
The Department of Labor;
the FBI; the ATF; the CDC; the NIH;
the CIA (should be under Defense);
the DEA; the EPA; the FDA; the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission; FEMA; OSHA; Federal Student Aid; the Wildlife and
Game Commission… just to name a few.[3]
Now most of these agencies do good things, but the issue is whether or not our Federal Government has the Constitutional power to run these programs. It does not. All of these things can be administered by individual States if they so choose. It’s about Federal overreach because the more it controls, the more power it has, and that upsets the Constitutional balance of power between it and the States – the people. Not to mention, the cost to the taxpayers[4] – you and me. Each of these organizations is another brick on the road to tyranny because each time something is regulated freedom is lost.
Nevertheless, was it with evil intent that these things happened? – not necessarily; it was a natural evolution, a natural progression of circumstances and events which allowed it. But power is a tenuous thing; it’s hard to get back once you’ve given it up. Just as rights are.
So, over the last 234 years this is what has happened to the United States of America. A slowly encroaching Centralism – which the history of the world shows will inevitably lead to Socialism – has crept in and undermined the power of the States, and in essence, the people. We cannot control a Federal government like we can control a State and a local government; and that is how our nation was designed to operate. I believe a lot of people are fed up with politics and feel that nothing can be done. And unfortunately, we have a national lack of prudence.[5] We have allowed ourselves to be distracted by trivialities, half-truths, and downright lies with no concern for truth and reason. I can assure you that we would have no Constitution or freedom if our forefathers were preoccupied with all the societal delusions that plague people today.[6] Yet, it is our civic duty to be involved, to find the truth, and to do what we can to perpetuate it.
As a final note, God’s infallible Word tells us in Psalm 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” And in Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt; their acts are vile.” The Framers knew this too. When they declared their independence from Britain and the rest of the world’s powers, they also affirmed their dependence on God “with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence.” But what happens when that nation, as a nation, no longer relies on God’s protection but instead relies on the mythical strength of humanity? What happens when a nation blessed by God to rise in this world’s history as the mightiest nation it has ever seen casts its God and His Word aside? What happens when a nation that once unashamedly gave the Maker of Heaven and earth the thanks and praise for its existence and protection says, “No, there is no God; our faith is in humanity?”
Well, my friends, we are experiencing the answer to that now. It’s our Republic, at least for as long as we can keep it. May none of our nation’s thinking and feeling people ever give up hope. We must be convinced that peace will follow a concerted effort to seek truth, to learn from history, to regain our virtues, and to live in reality.
I hope you will join me in regularly praying for our nation and its return to the Constitution; electing officials who will indeed uphold and preserve our Constitution; and holding our elected officials to it; because, in the end, we and our descendants, will all benefit much more greatly fr
[1] Taken from Douglas Wilson. Black & Tan (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2005), 46, n.5
[2] Rushdoony, R. J. This Independent Republic. (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1964).
[3] Cf. “The Federal Government and the Constitution” audio recording by Reg Kelly, Liberty Faith Church. Found at sermoncentral.com.
[4] Rushdoony states that Federal programs always cost more to operate than the benefit given.
[5] See “Prudence” by Rev. Kenneth Mbugua. Tabletalk (Ligonier, October 2022), p 12.
[6] CRT, LGBTQ+, Therianism, Furryism, Social Justice, Equity, etc., ad nauseum.
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