Leaves Do Not Shed Their Roots

Perhaps we should review some elemental aspects of our constitutional system of government, a system that served us well until about 70 years ago when misguided, and in some cases devious, politicians began recklessly trying to “improve” upon it.

Above all else, we must understand that the Constitution is not a creature of the federal government as some would have us believe. Rather, the federal government is a creature of the Constitution. The Constitution came first, and then the government. The government was born of the Constitution, and takes from it its unique shape and its just powers.

Ergo, no branch of the federal government, or any office growing out of it, is greater than the Constitution.

Just as the branches and leaves of a tree depend upon the roots for their stability and support, so too do the branches and offices of the federal government depend upon the Constitution for their steadiness and vitality--not to mention their authority and legitimacy.

Tree branches and leaves, however, differ from the branches of government and their respective officials in one important respect--branches and leaves understand instinctively that the continued health and vigor of a living organism is dependant upon the harmonious interaction of the component parts. In other words, branches and leaves know their place and confine themselves to their proper and appointed role in the system.

Regrettably, many public officers do not share this same keen sense of humility and teamwork. They erroneously believe that the life and splendor of our political system resides in them, not in the Constitution, and are continually attempting to disassociate themselves from it. In so doing, they foolishly jeopardizes themselves as well as the greater organism of which they are but a component part.

Conclusion: If more of our current politicians possessed the simple integrity of a leaf, America and Americans would not be facing many of the painful uncertainties and needless upheavals that now plague them.

The Constitution is the political contract Americans have agreed to live by. When grasping and unscrupulous politicians will not adhere to its terms, they carelessly undermine and corrupt the established social order, thereby endangering all of us.

In the natural world, leaves do not shed their roots. Instead, they obediently and respectfully carry out their ordained part in a beautiful and elegant system.

It’s high time those in the political world took a lesson from nature.