I’ve been rereading the Constitution lately, finding ways of
describing what the founders were trying to accomplish in this sacred document.
It isn’t rocket science. It’s only about 5000 words, just a
few pages. It’s in the English commonly spoken a couple of centuries ago, but
words haven’t changed so significantly that you can’t ascertain the meaning. It’s
not written for only lawyers to understand; it’s written for all Americans to understand.
And it’s important that we do.
It actually takes a great deal of effort to write words
clearly and briefly. Our Constitution was written with remarkable care and
inspiration. What a gift that is! It is unmatched in the history of the world.
When we abide by the Constitution, we get not only political
freedom; we also get economic prosperity and thriving civilization. But abiding
by the Constitution is the challenge.
Some years ago someone asked Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi whether a particular legislative act—some million-word-long monstrosity—was
Constitutional? Where in the Constitution was the power granted? It’s a
question that ought to be asked, first and foremost, of every piece of
legislation. But she actually responded with shock that such a provincial,
archaic, irrelevant question would even be asked.
That’s a problem.
We have one party that uses the term “constitutional” to
mean “whatever we want to do can be construed to fit; it’s a living
document.” And we have another party, some of whom understand we need to
restore and preserve the Constitution, but some others do no more than try to
prevent the slippage into tyranny from going so fast. That’s not good enough.
Pumping the breaks to slow a decline does not get you back up the mountain. You
need to ascend that mountain to have freedom, prosperity, and civilization.
Down at the bottom of that descent you unavoidably get tyrannical oppression,
poverty, and savagery.
The Constitution is the best vehicle ever created to ascend
that mountain.
But it requires actually abiding by it. That means some
things are required of us citizens—We the People—who are self-governing
sovereign citizens, rather than subjects of a ruler. We’re required to pay
attention. We need to know the law, know our rights, assert our rights. We need
to resist even the small usurpations of our rights, on principle. And—if at all
possible—we need to do this with convincing words and civilized actions, rather
than physical battle.
But there have been times—many times—when battle to protect
our nation has been necessary. And this day we celebrate Memorial Day to honor
those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
I’m going to repeat a photo essay I shared for Memorial Day
a few years ago, from a trip in 2014 to Arlington Cemetery and some other memorials
in Washington, DC. The reverence of Arlington especially touched my heart.
Reverence is honor and respect you give to show awe and profound love. Awe and
profound love are the least we owe to those who gave their lives for us, so we
can enjoy what our Constitutional Republic affords us—if we can keep it.
We got to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This was one of the most reverent moments of our trip. We all stood, in silence, throughout. No one forced us to be so respectful; yet it’s hard to imagine someone refusing to give reverence in that setting.
The ceremony takes place whether people are there or not. The soldiers revere those sacred dead; we are invited to join them in that honor. We felt privileged to witness it.
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| Retiring the Flag at Arlington Cemetery |
After the ceremony, we were
waiting for our tour bus, and I ran off to take a few more photos. I happened
to notice this additional ceremony, the retiring of the flag in early evening.
There was no crowd around. The soldiers were doing the honorable ceremony, because
that’s what they do. I took the photo from a distance; I was glad I got to see
this sacred moment.
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Among the Acres of Graves at Arlington Cemetery
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I know it doesn’t sound like a
thrilling vacation to go to a cemetery, but Arlington Cemetery is worth
experiencing. It’s vast, and beautiful, and sacred. If you’re not used to
experiencing reverence, plan in a trip like this to help you learn what it
feels like.
The Iwo Jima Monument relates to
World War II. It is located just outside the Arlington Cemetery. We saw it just
before sunset, which made photography a challenge, but the sky toward the sun
was stunning. This photo is taken with back to the sun so the monument shows up
as more than a silhouette.
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World War II Memorial
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One of
my favorite memorials was the World War II Memorial, located between the
Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Memorial. We were there on a day when buses
were bringing WWII veterans, many in wheelchairs and in their 90s, to honor
those they served with most of a lifetime ago.
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Each star represents 100 lost lives in WWII
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There’s
a wall of stars at the memorial; each star represents 100 who lost their lives.
There are 4048 gold stars, representing the 405,399 American dead or
missing.
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| Vietnam Memorial Wall |
The Vietnam Memorial Wall is most impressive maybe because of its length, full of names of those lost in service in that war.
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Korean War Memorial
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On the
opposite side of the Lincoln Memorial is this Korean War Memorial. It also has
a reflective wall, this one with faces looking out. The wall is alongside a
garden of statues, soldiers walking through undergrowth, as you might have seen
them in action. I hadn’t been aware of this memorial before the trip. But I saw
it in a scene of a TV show after returning home. This was another place I
really felt the reverence. Maybe it relates to having had a son stationed in
Korea.
May the reverence of this day help you appreciate all other
days.
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