To say the news that Justice Antonin Scalia had died was a shock was an understatement. It is a tragic loss for the American people. He loved the law as written by the Framers of the Constitution. He spent his life handling the Constitution with the respect it deserved.

His jovial disposition allowed him to work closely with other justices who were diametrically opposites in their treatment and respect for the Constitution. His arguments were so intellectually sound that they could not argue with them. He was a gift to this nation, a man to be honored and remembered for his many contributions to the Supreme Court.

With this in mind it was with deep regret that our President took about a minute, if that long, to pay his respects while his body lay in repose at the Supreme Court. Never mind that no real reason has been given as to why he didn’t attend the funeral – the only sitting president to ever miss a funeral for a Supreme Court Justice. No wonder we have an atmosphere of division and hostility in this nation. How very sad for the Obama’s that they cannot respect the longest serving justice whether they agreed with him or not.

With the passing of Justice Scalia we are facing a major Constitutional crisis. Because so few of us have any real knowledge of our Constitution we fail to realize that it is like a contract or covenant with the American people. It establishes our three branches of government and states the limits of what each Branch can do. In other words it lists only those things the federal government is allowed to do and nothing more.

It is purposely brief because the bulk of the power resides in the states. Keeping the federal government small with limits was important to most of the framers and founders. They recognized that the nature of government was to grow in size and power. And over the years since 1789 the federal government has gradually grown but slowly. That is until FDR’s presidency.

At that time FDR put forth the idea that the Declaration of Independence was a totally separate document from the Constitution. Therefore, the Constitution was a living document subject to change as the times changed. This false concept has allowed for the massive growth of the federal government since 1939. It has also allowed judges at all levels to begin to make rulings based on their own ideology and not based on the law (Constitution) as written.
In January 2015 I posted several blogs on Article III of the Constitution that established the Judicial Branch. Feel free to go back and read those blogs to refresh your knowledge of Article III.

The bottom-line is that the Declaration of Independence is the solid foundation upon which the Constitution was written. Can a house or building be separated from its foundation? Will the house continue to stand without the foundation? NO! The foundation is the most important part of a building. If it is not solid the building will eventually fail.

Today, those people who believe the Declaration can be separated from the Constitution also refuse to allow new immigrants to hear the main text of the Declaration because they deem it too religious. It is the Declaration of Independence that has laid the foundation of America on the principle of the God given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of our dreams (happiness). This is a problem for those who wish to control every aspect of society. In their eyes it is government that gives rights to the people.

This has never worked for the good of the people. When government gives, it also takes away. But God’s rights were given to man at creation and He has never taken them back. In order for the United States of America to maintain liberty for all, “we the people” must know and embrace the principles espoused by the Declaration of Independence and written into our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Next week we will look at the process of nomination Supreme Court Justices.

Dinner Table Discussion Questions: What do you think makes a good judge? Does a justice judge the law as written or make law?