My cousin Mark is a wise man.
I saw a post on his Facebook feed earlier today. I hope it's okay I'm sharing part of his message. I'm doing it because I think it's important. It's because we so easily forget what's important. He posted about the U.S. Constitution and he posted it on the document's anniversary.
Fifty-three years ago I delivered an oration to the Minidoka County, Idaho unit of the American Legion. In 1967, the assigned topic was Our Constitution, Worth Having, Worth Defending. Nancy Stallings and Pam Abo were also presenting that night. I focused on the importance of civil society’s involvement in promoting patriotism. At the age of 16, I sensed that defending the constitution was important, but my understanding was still relatively superficial. Today my sensitivity to the active issues is more widely and deeply developed, but the importance of the institutions of civil society: the churches, the schools, and the voluntary organizations is still one of my principle beliefs.
On this anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, I listened to a presentation given at BYU, via ZOOM, by Rabbi Jonathan H. Sacks, Baron Sacks. Although it wasn’t his only, or even primary topic, he discussed the difference between contract and covenant. He said a contract is an agreement between individuals in their self-interest, a quid pro quo, if you will. On the other hand a covenant is a joint pledge of loyalty and fidelity, and he mentioned the founding documents of the United States as a premier example of covenant. He mentioned several documents from our founding: the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution as the basis of our covenant. He quoted these words from the beginning of the Declaration: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—” Then, there are the words at the end: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” This encapsulated the founding covenant of 1776.
The very beginning of the Constitution again sounds in covenant: “We the People of the United States” form, establish, insure, provide, promote, and secure the critical objectives of the new government, and then “do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.” A people covenanting in explicit writing to undertake vigorous action on behalf of a nation.
My thought this Constitution Day is that we should see our individual obligations as covenant obligations to our fellow citizens. Loyalty and fidelity to each other can work; our form of government cannot succeed in an atmosphere of hate and violence.
I've been out of public schools for decades and because we've homeschooled for over twenty years, I don't know what things are being taught in schools today. I could surmise what is being taught from things my friends say, friends who do have kids in school, but that's not fair.
I hope they're teaching about the U.S. Constitution and why it's important. I hope the children learn that without this and other documents, the world would be much different.
I asked my cousin if I could share his story. He agreed. I wanted to wish the Constitution a happy birthday. Thanks, Mark--for the speech back then, and for the reminder today.
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