Constitution Day

Chester Mosley

On September 17, 1787, the Constitutional Convention met for the last time. Thirty-nine of our Founding Fathers, signed their names upon the greatest political document ever created.  Today, in honor of that occasion, we celebrate Constitution Day. If these great men of our countries youth could somehow watch us today, there is no doubt that they woud be amazed, confused and dismayed over may of the issues in America today.

I think they would be amazed at personal modes of tranportation. At how long we live and how small the world has become. The would probably be amazed that there are metal birds in the air and small little people talking inside a box. But more than those things, I think they would be amazed that we have broken the bonds of slavery. Both from ourselves and for others. I think they would be most pleased that we have settled this great country, from sea to shining sea.

I think they would be a bit confused too. Confused over why most of us do not own land. That many live in little boxes, "made out of ticky tack". They would be confused over why we import food and other goods, when we have the capability to create so much....and yet we dont. I think they would be confused over the fact that we can produce so much and yet we hold ourselves hostage over commodities, like oil.

But the saddest thing would be the dismay they would suffer, when they realize that instead of the "People" running the country, the Government is grasping the control. They would be dismayed that our borders are open for invasion and that we allow those invaders to pillage and plunder our countries wealth. That these invaders are not villified by our controlling Government and actually embraced, with evil intentions. I think they would suffer great dismay over issues like the Government no longer allowing men of free will, being allowed to seek their fortune, with the sweat from their own backs. That parts of this great country, is actually off limits, to fishing,hunting, mining and many other endeavors that they themselves enjoyed, when this country was young.

That we have relegated our forefathers to the pages of history, without taking the lessons from them that we now need so desparately, is a mark against us. That we have allowed our Government of the past 20 administrations to take our freedoms and liberties away from us slowly but surely, is a mark against us. That we have allowed not only invaders to come across our still open borders, but allowed ourselves to be attacked and thousands killed, is a mark against us.

Its not the same country now, that it was when we were young. We still die from disease and the perils of our labors. But we can also die at a moments notice, with the push of a button, at the whim of a single man. Our greatest men, that had an idea, didnt envision the threshold that we now stand upon. Only now, as we stand at the edge of that threshold, do we look back over our shoulders and try to see what our forefathers wanted for this land. Only now, when we are confused and angry with our Government, do we invoke the words of our fathers.

The current situation is our fault. If we did not have a direct hand in it, we allowed it to happen. There is only one question now. Do we have the fortitude to correct what has been done. As we fight and argue amongst ourselves, I like to think our forefathers are watching. I would like to know what they are thinking, what they would do, how they would guide us. I like to think that they would want us to stand united. I like to think that they would tell us, the good of the many, outweigh the good of the few or the one.

And while its a romantic thought that they may be watching us and what we do, their not. We are here, sometimes alone, sometimes together. But all of us, standing upon the threshold, whether we have our eyes open or not.