Today, we face a historic turning point. We can fight for a government that defends our freedoms, or we can turn a blind eye and descend into despotism. Already, there’s a fierce assault on our liberties. We can feel the tides of aggression toward both people of faith and the free market.
Our Constitution was purposely established to limit the size of government. Article I, Section 8, empowers Congress to do only 17 things—eight concerning national defense, six with respect to commerce (securing the rights of citizens and businesses), and the remainder about territories. It also allows Congress to make new laws to help carry out these powers.
Anything else is government overreach.
In addition, the Ninth Amendment clarifies, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
Have our elected representatives and appointed judges forgotten that government exists to protect, not to grant, our rights?
In securing a limited government, the founders expected that state and local governments would hold a broad range of responsibilities. In this spirit, early Americans entrusted parents, teachers, and school boards to run our education system. Before digital classrooms, standardized tests, and bureaucratic K–12 masterplans were ever conceived, our great nation produced some of the brightest minds in history. The federalist approach to education nourished hearts and minds, formed habits and principles, and created good citizens. This kind of education wasn’t only the duty of parents—it was their right.
Today, however, a behemoth government infringes on almost every area of our lives. Consider how the Carter administration established a one-size-fits-all Department of Education. Since then, America’s academic rankings and outcomes have been in steep decline. As the Old Testament reminds us, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” Even with advances in business, transportation, and technology, we can’t compensate for a lack of reasoning skills and moral knowledge.
In the face of these challenges, we must educate voters about the principles of limited, constitutional government. We must contend for the return of decision-making power back to the states and local districts. We must protect a delicate system of checks and balances and refute the claims that the Constitution is an evolving or “living document.” Truth doesn’t change. We can’t reinterpret the Constitution to mean whatever we want it to mean.
Consider the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, with its reference to the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” To acknowledge “Nature’s God” is to affirm that God has written the moral law on every human heart, on every page of Scripture, and in the natural law visible all throughout history. This same Creator God, the Declaration continues, has made humankind equal and endowed us with “certain inalienable rights.” Our most precious rights—life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness—are endowed by the Creator, not by the government. This idea is the source of our greatness.
In our words, morals, and actions, we must remind politicians that we’re a self-governing people. It’s a tremendous responsibility, but I believe that great-hearted men and women can restore this nation. Our families and our country are worth the effort and sacrifice. I’m reminded of the closing statement in the Declaration of Independence by its 56 signers: “We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” The alternative, in the flaming words of Samuel Adams, is almost unthinkable: “If you love wealth better than liberty ... Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you.”
All power of government comes by our consent. No bureaucrat, czar, or official can revoke our freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom to educate our children as self-governed citizens. These and other rights are our hard-won heritage, enshrined in our brilliant, enduring Constitution.
