Those who say they want to follow the Constitution have been portrayed as having an abnormal fixation on it, as if they have a slight mental imbalance in their ability to keep things in proper perspective.
What the critics want people to believe is that the Constitution is a fine document but it’s an old, out-dated, almost irrelevant piece of historical Americana that was written long ago for a way of life that no longer exists. Therefore, anyone who says they want our representatives in government to strictly adhere to what is written in the Constitution are often depicted as not being fully grounded in reality, but instead, want to live in an old fashioned fantasy world. The obvious implication is that there is something mentally wrong with such people.
However, the truth is that those who think lightly of the Constitution are scared to death of it because it’s like a bright beacon that prevents corrupt people from usurping power under the cover of darkness. So their goal is to extinguish that light by convincing people they don’t need to be concerned about what the Constitution says because it’s an old, dusty document that no longer applies to us.
But those who belong to the Tea Party movement understand its importance, or at least they should. We can’t defend what we don’t know or understand so it is imperative that each Tea Party member be familiar with the principles contained in the Constitution, the important role they play in safeguarding our freedoms, and be able to effectively communicate that knowledge to others.
If all the public hears is what our critics say then they will have a skewed idea about the Constitution. Since our goal is to have our government adhere to the Constitution then we must not only know what it says but we must reach out to teach others about it and convince them of its importance. If we don’t counter what our critics say they will win by default.
