Protect and Defend
Is it just a document written upon parchment?
A Constitution is not a written document. A Constitution can be composed into a written document. This is what our Founding Fathers and the Framers of the Constitution of The United States did, compose it into a document, which was later ratified as a law, a singular law, the law of the land.
Constitution - (noun)
The act or process of composing, setting up, or establishing.
The composition or structure of something; makeup.
The physical makeup of a person. "Having a strong constitution, she had no trouble climbing the mountain."
We each do in fact have a personal Constitution. This is a set of values which we will not compromise on. It is a set of values which we do not put up for debate. I have many clauses to my personal Constitution. I cannot stand the taste of a lie in my mouth, nor the sting of it in my ears. Therefore, I do not speak lies, and shall not tolerate lies from others. This I will not compromise. I do not believe in hate. As part of my personal Constitution, hate is easy, all one need do is allow themselves to engage in it. It is one with a weak Constitution, weak heart, and who is weak of mind, who engages in hate. This being part of my understanding of proper behavior, I do not hate any groups, nor individuals. I do not tolerate the hating of groups or individuals. This I will not compromise. This is the meaning of having a Constitution.
The Constitution of The United States of America is a set of values, rules of governance, which the citizens and government should not compromise, nor allow to be debated away. The first sentences of the Declaration of Independence are the most complete foundation of the meaning of our Constitution. Most poignant being the first sentence of the second paragraph;
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
The entirety of our Constitution, the underlying foundation of the meaning of our Constitution is contained in this single, eloquent sentence. The entire text of, and meaning of our Constitution, a value which shall not be compromised by the citizens and governing bodies of a nation, which adopted, ratified, and codified in document form, is contained in this single statement:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
“To Protect and Defend,” is not to covet and guard over a document. It is to proclaim one’s life offered in the defense of this value, this belief, the National and Personal Constitution, which cannot be compromised in whole or in part.