OUR VIEW: Calling for a return to the Constitution

Not since O.J. Simpson set land speed records dodging the police has the law been this interesting.

It’s a rare occurrence for USU to receive visits from high-level national officials, so the recent speech by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was a real treat for the university and the students who took the time to listen to his words.

Whether or not you agree with Scalia’s position on various court decisions, the opportunity to listen to a well-respected national figure provided insight for students that can’t be found in the classroom. It’s one thing to talk about the justice system and it’s quite another to listen to a man actively engaged in the system at the highest level speak of the challenges facing this country.

If there was one message that rang through like a clarion bell, it was Scalia’s call to a return to the Constitution. In today’s highly polarized partisan world, politics have become mired in a destructive trend of maneuvering and manipulating to use the Constitution as a battle ax or shield, depending on the situation. Few politicians and even fewer Americans seem to realize the vast importance of that document.

While written more than 200 years ago, the Constitution is a document that is relevant and important to our day. It was the result of the readings and theorizings of some of the greatest political minds that ever walked the Earth. The framers of the Constitution were well versed in writers like John Locke and Montesquieu and had firsthand experience with the destructive effects of tyrannical rule. They set about to draft a document that would clearly outline the way the government was to operate that would provide for the most security of the nation’s citizenry.

The result was the revolutionary Constitution. The framers were wise to establish the Constitution as the central tenant of how the government operates. Is it any wonder why when presidents are sworn into office they give an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America? Whether or not presidents have actually done that is an entirely different question.

Scalia stressed the importance of government being guided by the Constitution and warned against the danger of allowing the courts to reinterpret a document that begins with the important phrase, “We the people.”

The Constitution belongs to the people of the United States, but how many of us have actually read the Constitution? No, it was not sent to King George in 1776. Times have changed, true, but the principles endorsed in the Constitution have led the United States to become the most powerful and industrious country in the world.

With an important presidential election on the near horizon, it’s important that we the people elect officials that will best uphold the Constitution. If you don’t know what that entails, take some initiative and actually read it. We promise you won’t be disappointed.