Without obsessing over whether anything perfect can be made more perfect, let’s focus on how we’ve done so far perfecting a more perfect union in America, and a better world for mankind.
In almost every conceivable way we’ve done incredibly well; probably beyond any of the founders most expansive imaginings at the time the U.S. Constitution was drafted. Not even Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, the most important of the least known fathers of our country, and the author of the preamble to our Constitution could have envisioned just how spectacularly America was going to succeed.
The United States Constitution, now in its 236th year of governance, is the oldest and most enduring of the 193 codified constitutions in the world today. Remarkably, it stands much as it was written, having been amended only 17 times beyond the original Bill of Rights. Imagine that.
But what was it, and what is it, about our remarkable Constitution that has made America so incredibly successful as an experiment in governance, and as an accelerant in human achievement? Simply stated, to borrow from Nobel Laurate Milton Friedman, Americans were, and are, simply free to choose. For better or worse, we are free to choose, free to innovate, free to make our own way in life, free to reach for the stars, free to say who will govern us and free to say who will not govern us.
And, of course there are also those who see themselves free to contribute little while demanding much, and those on the fringes who illegally take what others have legally acquired.
America’s achievements, however, or more accurately, the volume of what America’s people have accomplished and bequeathed to the world is unprecedented in all of recorded history. Automobiles, aviation, the internet, global positioning systems, telephonics, light bulbs, moving pictures, transistors, personal computers, and on and on. Americans hold the record for the most Nobel prizes in the world, three times more than Great Britain the nearest runner up. Machine guns, the internet, the modern submarine, trans-oceanic cables, nuclear reactors, cell phones, men on the moon, and the list keeps growing. The 20th century has been called the American Century and indeed it was, just as the 21st century will see a continuous accumulation of American contributions to mankind.
All of this and so much more has grown out of the determination of our founders to create that more perfect union simply by providing more personal freedom for its citizens than the world had ever experienced. Following Alexis de Tocqueville’s tour of America, he wrote in his fabulous 1835 chronical, Democracy in America, that observing the industriousness of these new and free Americans “was like nothing I have ever seen before.”
But, of course, more perfect is far from perfect…very far.
While America is, indeed, the land of opportunity and prosperity, we also face a reality in which rampant poverty, violence, and mass shootings have become commonplace and, sadly, make America, among the more dangerous places to live on this planet.
America has the highest rate of reported crimes in the world, and there’s not much comfort in recognizing that some nations probably have a higher rate of unreported crimes. Consequently, it is not surprising then that America holds the record for hosting the largest mass incarceration in the world.
We produce more guns than any nation in the world, and therefore, not surprisingly, we have more school shootings than any other country in the world, and America also exports more guns than any other nation. We also hold the record for the highest child abuse death rate in the world, and, perhaps not surprising, we also hold the world record for the highest divorce rate. Small wonder then that America holds the record for the highest antidepressant use by women in the world. More people are diagnosed with mental disorders in America than anywhere else in the world, and, sadly, we lead the world in eating disorder deaths.
So, what does all of this mean. It means America, is a work in progress, and that the journey toward perfection is long and, of course, never really achievable. What our founders did understand, however, is that the journey is worth taking. The preamble to our Constitution doesn’t imply that America had achieved any degree of perfection, but rather that we could improve the lot of mankind or at least that portion of mankind that comprises America by continuously striving for perfection. A More Perfect Union in the context of its coinage by our founders describes a journey toward an unachievable destination, but a journey worth taking.
Arthur Schlesinger wrote sixty-five years ago in The Atlantic, “The framers of the Constitution spurned European tradition by rejecting a monarchy, a nobility, or a hereditary legislative chamber, placing their trust in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, one which should rule by counting heads instead of breaking them. Starting with a somewhat limited number of voters but in better proportion than in any other country, the suffrage was broadened generation by generation until it came to include all adults of both sexes; and at every point America set the pace for the Old World. The underlying philosophy was not that the common man is all-wise, but only that he can govern himself better than anyone else can do it for him.”
Contrary to what a more perfect union implies, the founders certainly knew we hadn’t achieved any degree of perfection, but simply that the very mission of the new country they were cobbling together was to commit to the journey. The more perfect union which they coined in the drafting of the Constitution was a commitment to the task of continuous improvement. “…in order to form” describes an objective, not something we had accomplished. The terminology was and continues to be aspirational.
Alexis de Tocqueville, like George Washington before him, dreaded the inevitable rise of political parties, or factions as they were described at the time of the founding. As he warned in Democracy in America, “The despotism of faction (political parties) is not less to be dreaded than the despotism of an individual.”
That was true 236 years ago, and it is no less true today.
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Please consider our Of Thee I Sing 1776 Premium option. While my weekly column is always free, for just $5/month, you’ll also receive my annual ebook, “Essays For Our Time,” and my new Podcasts.
One key to our success is the limitation we have placed upon our freedom through the application of checks and balances. Our freedom cannot be limitless or we will lose the consent of the governed. That consent requires adherence to the conclusions reached by our judiciary, our deliberative bodies, and our elections. The limits we place on our freedom apply to all, from shoplifters to monopolists. It's freedom under the law. Consent of the governed.
An excellent - and remarkedly brief - review of our history. Yes, there are many warts and thorns among the roses - but progress has - and is - is taking place. We must accept valid and constructive criticism by our representatives and citizens BUT also nurture our youth and tell the story of America - unique in world history.
One key to our success is the limitation we have placed upon our freedom through the application of checks and balances. Our freedom cannot be limitless or we will lose the consent of the governed. That consent requires adherence to the conclusions reached by our judiciary, our deliberative bodies, and our elections. The limits we place on our freedom apply to all, from shoplifters to monopolists. It's freedom under the law. Consent of the governed.
An excellent - and remarkedly brief - review of our history. Yes, there are many warts and thorns among the roses - but progress has - and is - is taking place. We must accept valid and constructive criticism by our representatives and citizens BUT also nurture our youth and tell the story of America - unique in world history.