Steve Gardes
America was founded based on religion and morality as the essential pillars. John Adams stated, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.” George Washington said that he hoped the new nation “would acknowledge the providence of the Almighty God and obey his will.” We can see these truths “to be self-evident” in both of America’s founding documents.
Declaration of Independence – 1776
In the Declaration the Founders outlined their moral vision and the government it implied, as the Truths invoked that there is a “Higher Law” of right and wrong. It is moral reasoning that is the foundation of our political system, and the moral truths are as follows:
— All men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights—Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
— To secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the Consent of the Governed.
The Constitution — 1787
In drafting the Constitution, the Founders drew upon the Principles they had outline in the Declaration. Their primary objective was to devise a government strong enough to secure our rights against Domestic and Foreign oppression, yet not so powerful as to be oppressive itself. Accordingly, the document had a series of extraordinary checks and balances which included separated powers among the following:
— National and State governments.
— National government separated by the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
— State Legislatures retained the power of ratification of any proposed amendments to the Constitution.
— We the People retained the power to elect political officials.
Although the Constitution rests on a firm moral foundation, it cannot be self-enforcing. Man being man, there is always the risk of power and money leading political officials to attempt to undue the “checks and balances” supposedly in the name of modernization of the Constitution for the common good. It is therefore up to each generation of “We the People” to preserve and protect the Constitution for it “will only live if it is alive in the hearts and minds of the American people.”
So where are the hearts and minds of America today? Should we be concerned that our political leaders have removed God from our schools and marketplaces, or that our children are being taught that America is an evil place? We would do well to remember the warnings of Benjamin Franklin in 1790 about political leaders: “When man can be placed into a position of honor that is also a position of wealth and power, he will move heaven and earth to obtain it.”
Steve Gardes is a certified public accountant (CPA) and certified valuation analyst (CVA) with over 40 years of public accounting experience.