The Constitution--Old as Truth and Modern as Tomorrow

“If men were angels,” said James Madison, “no government would be

necessary.”¹ And in a government of the people by the people, the great difficulty is that

one must “first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place

oblige it to control itself.”¹

Since no man is infallible, since there is no guarantee of moderation in the use of

power or personal opinion, the need for checks and balances seems obvious – and the

need for humility and understanding also. “Having lived long,” said Benjamin Franklin,

“I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller

consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right,

but found to be otherwise.”²

All men at times may be mistaken – and in all our relationships with one another

we need the flexibility to give and take in personal opinions, and the firmness to preserve

and safeguard principles.

The framers of the Constitution, said Ira Jewell Williams, “wanted… the

maximum freedom of the individual with respect for the rights of all…Our…fathers did

not want to be placed under legislative tutelage. They felt…able to take care of

themselves… Every new “Thou Shalt Not,’… not only impairs individual initiative, but

its enforcement requires also enormous hordes of enforcers.”³

So much for some opinions of the past. Now as to the present: We are all entitled

to the fullest possible freedom, but with understanding, temperance, and willingness to

work; and with liberty and respect for law, and with an awareness that “freedom and

responsibility are inseparable.”⁴

And on this anniversary of the Constitution of our country, we reaffirm our faith

that this Constitution which our fathers fashioned for us is a divinely inspired document –

founded on principles as old as truth, and yet as fresh and modern as tomorrow morning.