keep hearing people talk as if the Constitution will somehow save us. John Francis Mercer, Delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Maryland, said:
It is a great mistake to suppose that the paper we are to propose will govern the United States. It is the men whom it will bring into the Government and interest in maintaining it that is to govern them. The paper will only mark out the mode and the form. Men are the substance and must do the business.
Mr. Mercer is correct, the Constitution does not govern, it’s the people we place in government who do. This is why it is so important not only to vote but to do so wisely. If we do not vote wisely, we will find ourselves in the situation we have today, where corrupt men corrupt the very government that was created to protect our rights.
I hear people frequently talking about the Constitution as if it’s some sort of superhero ⏤ like it will sweep in and save the day. But the Constitution is just ink on parchment, words on paper, and has no power to fix the ills of our country. As delegate to the Constitutional Convention, John Francis Mercer said:
It is a great mistake to suppose that the paper we are to propose will govern the United States. It is the men whom it will bring into the Government and interest in maintaining it that is to govern them. The paper will only mark out the mode and the form. Men are the substance and must do the business.
So what are we to do? We start by taking responsibility for the men and women we have put in government who have so violated their oaths of office and corrupted its institutions. How can we tell if a public servant is fulfilling their oath to support the Constitution if we have no clue what those words on paper actually are?
Then, we change the way we decide who to vote for. No more simply choosing the next donkey or elephant, no more voting based on the campaign promises that we all know are lies. If we wish the Constitution to mark out the mode for protecting our rights, we need to focus less on the quantity of voting and more on its quality.
We must vote based on the candidate’s fidelity to their oath to support the Constitution. Only if we are brave enough to walk away from the status quo and place our rights above our comforts do we stand a chance of returning to this country to the land of the free.
The Constitution Study with Paul Engel on America Out Loud Talk Radio can be heard on weekdays at 4 pm ET. Listen on iHeart Radio, our world-class media player, or our free Apple, Android, or Alexa apps. Listen to other episodes of The Constitution Study, available on podcast.
