Constitution Week, which begins today, invites us to revisit our nation's framework for governing.
Although studying the U.S. Constitution may end after we have passed high school civics class, the document remains a blueprint of our fundamental rights and freedoms.
Credit the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) for petitioning Congress in 1955 to declare the observance of Constitution Week from Sept. 17-23 each year.
The purpose of the observance, according to the DAR, is to:
• Emphasize citizens' responsibilities for protecting and defending the Constitution.
• Inform people that the Constitution is the basis for America's great heritage and the foundation for our way of life.
• Encourage the study of the historical events which led to the framing of the Constitution in September 1787.
Among the many provisions our nation's founders got right was the process for amending the Constitution.
According to the National Archives, "The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention."
Amending the U.S. Constitution is difficult, as it should be.
Although we rarely point to a federal model as an example, Missouri's process for amending its state constitution invites abuse.
Instead of serving as a fundamental framework for governing, the state constitution has become a magnet for amendments that would be more appropriate as laws, policies or regulations. Amending the state constitution has become popular because an amendment cannot be undone or altered by lawmakers - a practice that has occurred with past voter-approved laws.
The DAR characterizes the U.S. Constitution as "a testament to the tenacity of Americans throughout history to maintain their liberties, freedoms and inalienable rights."
It also is a testament to the enduring quality of a concise enumeration of governing principles for a nation of free people.