The most important word in the Constitution

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution answers three important questions. The first is the “who” question. Who is the ultimate authority behind this document? The answer is “We, the People.” The Constitution does not come to us from fifty-five delegates in Philadelphia from the summer of 1787. It does not come from the Confederation Congress then in existence. It does not come to us from the individual states. It comes from those governed—"We, the People." It is a document from Us, stating how We shall be governed.

The second important question answered by the Preamble is “Why was it written?” In short, it was written “to form a more perfect union.” In the 1780s, our infant nation was on the brink of collapse in the chaotic aftermath of the Revolutionary War. This era saw economic depression and poverty, threats of rebellion among unpaid soldiers, an inability to get British soldiers off of our soil, an almost complete dissolution of the army, and massive dislocation from the war. Something had to be done before this fledgling experiment in liberty and “government by the people” perished before it really got off the ground. Therefore, the Constitution was written to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, etc.

The third important question is: Who does this document apply to? What people are protected under this document that establishes a more perfect union? Again, the answer is given to us in the Preamble. It is “to ourselves and our Posterity.” But here we come upon a word that might not be immediately familiar. What does Posterity mean? It means those who come after us, future generations . . . those who are not yet born.

So it would appear that the first generation of Americans did not view the Constitution as a selfish means merely to safeguard their own rights, but rather as something that applied to future Americans too. The Constitution would apply to their children in 1820, and their grandchildren in 1850, and their great-grandchildren in 1880, and so on until 2010.

However, if this is true, then it doesn’t stop with us in 2010. If the Constitution applies to us, then mustn’t it also apply to those who come after us? The Constitution applies to Americans born fifty years from now. It applies to Americans born five years from now. And what about Americans who will be born five months from now? Or three months? Or eight months? Does the Constitution apply to them as well? It seems to me that the Constitution applies to an American in its mother’s womb just as much as an American in 1850 or an American in 2050.

Of course, our country has not always been equitable and consistent in affording Constitutional protections. Slaves had no rights for decades, and only began to gain those rights after the horrific Civil War. Women were not afforded the same rights as white men. Indians and other groups have likewise been slighted during our nation’s history. To our credit, though, our nation has, over time, to a large degree, been successful in mending these wrongs and seeking to apply Constitutional rights to all citizens.

We are approaching yet another anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973 that legalized abortion in the United States. And, as usual, in the coming week we will all see news coverage of protesters on either side of the issue. On the one side of the street, we will see signs that say, “Abortion stops a beating heart” (which is essentially a factual statement). On the other side of the street, we will see signs that say “Keep abortion safe and legal” (This slogan, actually, is a bit problematic. Abortion may or may not be safe for a woman, be it from a physical or emotional standpoint, but I can absolutely guarantee you that abortion is never safe for a fetus.).

People can argue this issue from many sides and many angles. But I am persuaded more and more to ask: What gives our generation the right to decide which of our posterity gets to enjoy the blessings of liberty, and which of our posterity does not? What gives us the right to play fast and loose with the Preamble of our Constitution? Instead of learning from past mistakes and injustices, are we not just repeating them?