By Curtis W. Caine, Sr., MD
The Constitution of these American States United is their simple, plainly-worded founding charter. It is the supreme Law of the Land. Every act of every citizen (in and out of government), every statute of Congress, every “advice and consent” of the Senate, every word and deed of the Chief Executive and his agencies, and every decision of the Judiciary must conform to, be authorized by, and be within the boundaries of the Constitution. The Constitution is to be read, studied, understood, obeyed, and supported; not interpreted.
There are numerous commentaries on the Constitution, but the most accurate knowledge of this document is gained by simply reading it — and this column will attempt to guide us to that end.
When those in government disobey the Constitution, the built-in checks and balances are designed to immediately make corrections. Unfortunately, for several decades now, those on the Federal payroll have disobeyed the Constitution with impunity. Disobedience of the Constitution is a violation of the oath each official swore to uphold.
The violations of the Constitution by omission and by commission have not been corrected by “We the People” because the violations have gone undetected by too many of us. And we are not aware that violations are being committed because, sadly, too many of us do not have a working knowledge of the Constitution.
There are several reasons why we are insufficiently and incorrectly schooled in the Constitution. The first and foremost reason is that the public schools have become politically correct, indoctrination centers, controlled by the same persons who are knowingly or (out of ignorance) unknowingly violating the Constitution.
Second, this mis-education is reinforced by the next echelon of public education – the publishing houses, radio, movies, television, news magazines, and newspapers (collectively known as “the media”). They gloss over, cover-up, and explain away flagrant non-adherence and violation of the Constitution by themselves and by those in power.
The third reason, and the most important one, is our individual lack of discipline and rigorous self-study. We have too often taken the path of least resistance and listened to and believed what others have said the Constitution states when we should read it ourselves to learn what it actually says.
The fourth reason is that we have depended on religious leaders who have embraced misinformation, misguided social gospels, even liberation theology and secular humanism or the various forms of socialism — all precluded by the Constitution.
Too many people swallow the warped, fallacious notion of a purported “separation of church and state.” The Constitution of these States United established a nation we call America. The First Amendment thereto reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
As you see, not one of the words “separation,” “church,” or “state” appears in the First Amendment. The First Amendment simply orders that there shall be no mandated Federal Government official religion, as was the case in England, Italy, and the Orient at the time the Constitution was adopted. For centuries, citizens in many countries were oppressed and controlled by the government-licensed and -dominated religion of a particular church or denomination; or, much less frequently, by a church-controlled government. This form of spiritual and political slavery was the reason many of the Founding Fathers (or their ancestors) fled from Europe. So, at the founding, they outlawed religious slavery (securing religious liberty) in these American States by the First Amendment.
Most emphatically, the First Amendment did not outlaw God’s teaching of morality from government actions or functions. To the contrary, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and many of the Founding Fathers’ writings are replete with references to the Bible.
As sovereign citizens and worthy nationals of our great Republic, we need to read and study the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of these United States so that we can understand them, obey them, teach them, and insist they be obeyed by our creation — government.
Dr. Caine is an anesthesiologist in Jackson, Mississippi, and a member of the Editorial Board of the Medical Sentinel. His e-mail address is [email protected].
Originally published in the Medical Sentinel 1996;1(1):29-30. Copyright ©1996 Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).
(This column on the Constitution appears in the Medical Sentinel to remind us that it is the unConstitutional (and thus illegal) activities in medicine and all other facets of our lives that have trampled on and outlawed our God-endowed freedom and liberty.)
