I think the United States Constitution is one of the most brilliant and meaningful documents ever written, and I’m grateful to live in a country (ideally) protected by it. But if I’m being honest with you and I’m being honest with myself, I just don’t know how much I care about it anymore. I know that might be shocking or confusing to some, but it’s rooted more in pragmatism than anything – at least from my point of view.
I’ve had this feeling fostering for years, but it came to a head in December, when The Satanic Temple erected a Baphomet statue at the New Hampshire State Capitol.
Of course, the naive, the useless, and the evil will defend it. Some of them will point to the Constitution in earnest, arguing that if Christians are free to build Nativity scenes, Satanists must be free to build Baphomets. I can acknowledge that there are still people that disagree with me on policy but hold the Constitution dear. But the truth is that the majority and the decision makers among my ideological adversaries will use it and abuse it when it can advance their agenda, but hold no real reverence for the principles it represents.
They pretend to care about the Constitution when they’re dedicating altars to demons or burning the American flag, but when it comes to pro-life activists peacefully praying outside of abortion clinics, or parents protesting their children’s indoctrination, or non-violent Trump supporters demonstrating on his behalf, they couldn’t care less about the First Amendment.
A part of me still wants to hold onto it, because the existence of evil and hypocrisy don’t excuse it. There will always be people doing wrong and getting ahead, but one of the greatest tests of integrity is clinging to your convictions when it’s most tempting to abandon them. If you try hard enough, you can usually rationalize these contradictions of character. Maybe that’s exactly what I’m doing.
But maybe some things are too important to sacrifice tangible victory in exchange for moral superiority – and America is one of them.
What’s the point of forcing myself to play by a rule book that my enemies have all but discarded? What’s the point of forfeiting everything that actually matters to virtue signaling? What’s the point of taking the high road to hell?
One of the most compelling arguments for different administrations adhering to the Constitution is maintaining a precedent that forces the other party to do the same when they’re in power. But that precedent has already been destroyed. We’ve already seen how little regard the modern Democratic Party has for our founding documents – especially in the last four years. So as the political right prepares for an opportunity they haven’t had in generations, why should they neuter themselves based on the pipe dream that the Left will suddenly start caring about the law again? Why should we be cautious or controlled in our pursuits when they were anything but?
My problem isn’t with the Constitution, but the circumstances created when one side treats it like a binding contract and the other treats it like instructions to a board game, only using it to exploit it or look for loopholes.
It’s not that I don’t care about the Constitution, but I care about America more.
I’ve matured past the point of Reagan worship in my political journey, but I think he was right when he said if we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to.
And even if there were, I don’t know that I’d want to run away from that fight.
As flawed as we are, and as corrupt and rotten as our government is, if America as we know it truly ceases to exist, I believe the world will become a much darker place. I believe we’ll become subjected to levels of depravity, degradation and chaos that no one born here has ever known. And I think the longer right wing leaders bind themselves to strict standards that left wing leaders use sparingly and for political convenience, the higher risk we have of experiencing it as opposed to hypothesizing it.
Sorry not sorry, America isn’t made better, safer, or stronger when Satanists are emboldened to openly antagonize the religion that built this country. It isn’t made great by protecting the burning of Old Glory while charging teenagers with felonies for doing donuts and leaving skid marks on a Pride mural in the middle of the street. It doesn’t improve when mocking the dominant religion is “free speech” but mocking the cult of gender and sexual identity is “hate speech.” On the contrary, this line of thinking has led to our rapid and undeniable decline. We’re weaker than we ever have been, and it’s not a coincidence.
That’s why I don’t care if Satanists, communists, or anyone else whose belief system threatens the fabric of this nation feels “free” or “equal.” In fact, I prefer they didn’t.
They didn’t care when the Biden administration was demanding the biggest social media companies in the world silence people that think like me. They didn’t care when in the first year of the Biden administration, Democrats floated court packing, mass amnesty, ending the filibuster, and statehood for DC and Puerto Rico in an effort to secure one party rule. They don’t care about my freedom…so why should I care about theirs?
I know some will read this, and think it’s harsh, or extreme, or that I’m a fascist. And to that, I say that if you don’t want fascists in control when you lose power, don’t act like one when you have it.
America was the greatest country on earth, and we can be again. But if the people that love this country are more committed to constitutional compliance than doing what needs to be done, our best days are behind us.
what do you think?