On behalf of Camp Constitution, Rev. Steve Craft and I recently presented a donation of 1,500 pocket copies of the U.S. Constitution to the Alton-Barnstead, NH, Schools.
We want to thank Hal Shurtleff for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
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I authored an article for our blog on the subject and shared it on a number of Facebook groups to which I belong.
Most of the members of these groups were encouraged and motivated by our act. But not all. I encountered an irate person whom I will call “Forward Government Thinker” or FGT. FTG took exception to our act of generosity and civic-mindedness:
“Hallie, you can take your pocket copy of the constitution, roll it up and smoke it?”
This is not the first time I have encountered people who hate the U.S. Constitution, and their argument against it is similar. “And what are you planning to replace it with?” was my first reply.
FGT: Words on parchment from over two centuries ago DOES NOT apply to our lives in this day and age. Those that resist change and forward movement are the roadblocks of our society.”
This is their classic argument: “Something 200 years or older has no validity.” I once debated a man who made the same argument. I asked if the U.S. Constitution were written in 1848, would it also be obsolete? He answered in the affirmative, and I thanked him for refuting the “Communist Manifesto” written by a white Euro-centric male.
FGT thinks that I am a roadblock to society. Roadblocks serve a particularly important function: It prevents people from driving off the road and getting injured or killed. Our Founders gave us Constitutional roadblocks not to curtail freedom but to prevent tyrants from imposing their will upon us. I think the term “roadblock of society should be there next to Hillary’s “Deplorables.’
My reply to FGT:
I disagree. The U.S. Constitution is as valid today as it was when it was ratified. So, what do you suggest we replace it with? Is freedom of speech, trial by jury, freedom of the press all words on parchment that do not apply to our lives today? What kind of change do you want? A nation with an all-powerful government that controls all aspects of our lives. Or what George HW Bush wanted: “A New World Order- a U.N. as envisioned by the Founders of the U.N.?”
FGT: “(A vulgar acronym) Hal, it needs an overhaul. Think of the preamble as the USA’s mission statement. Just as many large entities have done to refresh their brand, revision is necessary. That’s why we are stuck in the good ole days/good ole boy mentality. Many things that worked then do not work now. The U.S. Constitution is antiquated and does not align with our country as we stand today. Expecting our country to make forward progression without a forward-thinking government is absurd.”
My reply: “But you refuse to tell me what you want to replace it with? And, just what is “forward thinking government?”
I am not refusing anything. STOP living like it was 200+ years ago…science and technology have advanced us in many ways! Yet you live in the past, which prevents forward thinking! (Vulgar acronym), Harold! When were you born?
My reply: “You want to get rid of the U.S. Constitution but have nothing to replace it with except with some blind faith in “forward government thinking” There is nothing forward about “forward-thinking government.” It will always lead to tyranny. Science and technology have nothing to do with human nature, which never changes.”
I forgot to tell FGT that I was born in 1959.
And I continued: “At least FGT is honest about the desire to see the U.S. Constitution trashed and relegated to the dustbins of history. There is a well-funded attempt by people who share FGT’s disdain for the U.S. Constitution and people like me, who, as FGT puts it, “are the roadblocks of society” to hold an Article V Convention. These people were clever enough to have some of their well-paid operatives appeal to conservatives who do not hate the U.S. Constitution, and another group of their well-funded operatives appeal to those on the Left who hate the U.S. Constitution and pretty much everything else about the United States except their trust funds. (The teachers and professors in the government school and state colleges have been successful beyond their wildest imaginations.) So far, thanks to members of the “roadblock community,” they have been unsuccessful, especially in New Hampshire, where they have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
FGT: “Before you lose your shirt…understand that taking the time to practice the pause helps more than you think. Here is something for you to chew on…I voted for the former twice. Then I took the time to pause and reflect on the J6 attack on our democracy. DJT and his disrespectful cult members have all but ruined the GOP! DJT will go down being known for infamy, infidelity, indiscretion, idiocies, and imploding the Republican Party!”
My reply: “My shirt is in my possession, but thank you for your concern. You still have not told me what you want to replace the U.S. Constitution with. We are not a democracy; we are a republic. I have issues with many in the Republican Party, but Biden, Harris, and their cabinet, which resembles a freak show, is a national disgrace. Biden, a liar all of his political life and over the past ten years, an employee of the Communist Chinese government, is a supporter of eight-year-old children getting sex change operations. Harris, who started her political career as a mistress for San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, not only openly supported the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots, but she also raised money to get the terrorists bailed out of jail-one of which, upon release murdered a person.”
Note how FGT deflected from opposing the U.S. Constitution to her disdain for the Republican Party.
FGT: “Your shirt was left right on the floor. Amend! Evolve! History should be taught exactly as it happened. That’s the point. Happened is past tense. We don’t live in our past, we reflect upon it and hopefully learn from our mistakes. Our Constitution, as written, is antiquated and archaic. It doesn’t have to be rewritten in its entirety, but it certainly has opportunities for amendments.”
First, FGT wants to trash the Constitution but cannot or will not tell us what we should replace it with, and now just wants to amend it.
My reply: “And just what amendments do you propose?”
FGT failed to offer any proposed amendments but was terribly certain the Constitution needed amending.
Another person with the same mindset of FGT posted: “Why is a Reverend (an ecclesiastic devotion) handing out political materials to a public school system (secular institution)? Shouldn’t there be a separation of church and state; especially during a public (non-church sponsored) event?”
My reply: The U.S. Constitution is not political material, and the Lemon Test is a dead letter thanks to the Shurtleff v Boston decision. Free speech is just that, regardless of who is saying it.
And another posted: Seems like he is just stirring the pot.
My reply: “No, just exercising the rights I have as an American citizen protected by the U.S. Constitution.”
The U.S. Constitution was written by far-sighted men who had a keen understanding of human nature and history and that is why they gave us an incredible document that granted limited powers to the three branches of the federal government. James Madison, who is known as the Father of the Constitution, wrote in Federalist Papers 51:
“If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place, oblige it to control itself.”
It is hard to blame FTG and those that share FTG’s perspective. Contempt for the U.S., its organic documents, and its history are taught at most, if not all, of our nation’s government schools, private prep schools, colleges, universities, Hollywood, Corporate America, and the media -A.K.A “Fake News, However, thanks to the efforts of Hillsdale College, Praeger University, The National Center for Constitutional Studies, and literally hundreds of organizations large and small like Camp Constitution, the tables are being turned. Let us hope and pray that America can have a rebirth of freedom and that the likes of FGT will come to have a love for our unique Constitution and our exceptional nation.
Readers, who would like a pocket copy of The U.S. Constitution may E-mail me campconstitution1@gmail.com