0:02 Today we're marking Constitution Day on this special edition of the Way to Wow Shows. [music]
0:11 >> Who are you and where are you going? What do you want? Hello and welcome to this special edition of the Way to Wow shows for Constitution Day, September 17th, 2026. I'm your host, Kevin Bemel, and I do these shows because they give us kind of a meter to the year, meaning a pacing to the year. So the the civic rituals that
0:51 um maybe are a little bit frayed these days, it's I think it it's a shame for our society. So you know despite political differences, I think almost everyone in America um has respect for the Constitution. And so this this day in particular could could be a day of a unifying day for um all Americans. And and so I I take this time to spend uh you know a few minutes with you to talk a little bit about the
1:28 history of the Constitution, some of the things that it says and perhaps what its meaning is in our lives. So, um if if you're you know at all familiar with American history, you know that um the United States or what was then the 13 colonies um fought a war against Great Britain that I mean we we say it began in 1776. It actually began in 1775, a war for independence. Um that war went on for a number of years. In n in not
2:03 19, sorry, not that long, in 1783. Um the war ended with victory on the part of what had become the United States under the United States of America under the uh Declaration of Independence that was issued um in 1776. It's why we celebrate our country's birthday on July 4th each year. And this year is of course the 250th uh anniversary of the founding of of our country. Um coming out of the American Revolution, the 13 states were governed
2:41 by something called the Articles of Confederation. But it was pretty quickly afterwards realized that they weren't strong enough to bind us together uh a as a nation. And so in um I'm give you the exact date in uh let's see where is it July no sorry in May on May 25th of 1787 um a federal convention convened in Philadelphia in the assembly room of the Pennsylvania state house a building we
3:17 now know as um uh Independence Hall. And the intent was to see if they could come up with a uh a better solution than the Articles of Confederation. And so on September 17th, 18 uh sorry, 1787, okay, the federal convention adopts the final text of the proposed constitution and then that body uh was was dissolved. I know we we we don't think of things in that way anymore. Nothing ever
3:52 dissolves, but their work was done and so there was no need for for that convention to continue. On June 21st of 1788, New Hampshire's convention um adopted the proposed constitution in a vote of 89 to 79. Not squeaky close, but not a huge majority. And that became they became the needed ninth state out of the 13 to put the constitution into effect um and and form the governor of the United form the government of the United States. And then history goes on from
4:28 there. Um April 30th, 1789, George Washington was was inaugurated as the first president of the United States at Federal Hall in New York City. So Washington, the District of Colombia had not been uh designated yet as the seat of the federal government. So for the first um I think it I think it was Adams, no I think it was Jefferson who was the first occupant of the White House if memory serves. Um, on December 15th, 1791,
5:03 Virginia ratified 10 proposed constitutional amendments adding the Bill of Rights to the US Constitution. And uh and so um the the the story goes that um in the um I wouldn't call it a battle but in the discussions to uh see that the constitution was rat uh ratified by at least nine of the 13 states. Um two parties essentially
5:39 emerged. One was called the Federalists and the other was called the anti-federalists. The Federalists were generally speaking in favor of a strong federal government and the anti-federalists were opposed to a strong federal government. And in order to quell some of the anti-federalist statement, not statement, sentiment, uh it was thought um efficacious, if you will, to propose certain amendments protecting
6:15 what the founders of our country uh thought of as being fundamental rights, things like uh the right of free speech and free assembly. um freedom in religious practice, um uh freedom freedom to bear arms, um freedom from illegal search and seizure. And so these initial guarantees of freedom were enshrined in the first 10 amendments to the constitution. Um and they're known and they became known as the bill of
6:50 rights. Now as of today there are 20 yeah 27 uh total amendments to the constitution. So there were there there were 17 added um after um the the original 10 um amendments that that comp that that comprise the bill of rights. Um one of them was um the 13th amendment uh I believe it's the 13th amendment. Let me double check that. um prohibition which prohibited uh no not I'm sorry not the 13th amendment.
7:25 No no no 13th amendment um essentially outlawed slavery. Um yeah I don't remember which one it was but anyway prohibition was uh one of those amendments. It of course was repealed in um uh 1930 to take effect in 1933 I believe and and so not all of the 27 amendments are are you know still part of the constitution. So
8:01 there's lots of arguing over what the constitution means how it should be interpreted. uh there are um different philosophies applied to it. Uh one is uh the the sort of texturalist uh perspective meaning that one should only look at the text um of the constitution to understand its meaning. Another is the um sort of constructionist which isn't too
8:37 different from the texturalists although the constructionist would look at um other documents for example the federalist papers um to understand what was the intent of the framers of the constitution and those are kind of on one end of of the spectrum and then on the other end of the spectrum are what what are typically referred to as the sort of living constitutionalists. who believe that the con interpretation of the constitution needs to change as society develops, as society changes.
9:14 And in general, those two uh describe the sort of right left uh divide that we see in constitutional thought um as as demonstrated both in the Supreme Court but but among I think people in general and um you know it it is you know we hear lots of talk about well that's not constitutional that is constit stitutional. Of course, anyone saying that is generally doing so from their
9:51 constitutional interpretive perspective, right? So, um you know, just because somebody says something is or is not constitutional uh per se doesn't mean that someone else is going to agree with them. The other thing is and I I think this is important for us to to note and that is that um while we tend to think of the Supreme Court as being the final arbiter of what is constitutional um that is true from a legal sense i.e.
10:28 The Supreme Court according to the constitution is the highest judicial authority in the country. Right? And so if the Supreme Court however it's constituted declares that a law is not constitutional then functionally it is not constitutional. But of course not being constitutional or being constitutional for that matter doesn't mean that a law is moral or right. So there was a time uh for example the Dread Scott decision where essentially
11:04 the Supreme Court held that slavery was constitutional. Uh but there there there was nobody in the especially in the anti-slavery movement that would have interpreted the Supreme Court's declaration of constitutionality of of slavery as conferring upon it any kind of moral decency. Right. And and in in many ways the Supreme Court um you know deciding that Dread Scott would
11:39 have to be returned uh to his master only um infuriated anti-slavery forces because they realized that uh you know the law a as such or at least as it was currently being interpreted um was not going to get rid of this you know moral abomination, right? And so um I I think you know we need to be careful when the Supreme Court opines on a particular issue in distinguishing between again the the
12:17 legality from a constitutional standpoint and the morality which the Supreme Court does not it cannot uh opine on the morality of any particular issue. you and really the the the essence of the American uh experiment, if you will, is that sovereignity lies with the people, meaning us, the voters. And it is for us to decide through
12:52 uh through speech, through assembly, through lobbying what the morality will be of our government. Now that's certainly true at the federal level because the constitution is to a large extent an amoral document. I say amoral, not immoral, right? uh amoral means that it it doesn't take moral stands for the most part. Uh but this is equally true at the state and local level as well.
13:28 And in in many ways, the federal constitution sought to leave the most potentially fraught issues for the states to decide so that there could be a multiplicity of moral perspectives uh dealt with within the country. And so if somebody was living in a state where they found the laws to be morally repugnant, they could in essence move to another state that might have a different set of laws that were more
14:05 more aligned with the their morality. Right? So we see that today um with with the overturning of um Row versus Wade that made um abortion legal uh I'm sorry yeah legal throughout the country right so with with the overturning of of Ro vie Wade it wasn't that abortion was made um illegal ac across the country it's that the Supreme Court in making that ruling returned the decision of whether abortion would be legal or illegal to the individual
14:40 states and and that that is the meaning of a federal government. So we tend to think of the checks and balances of the federal government as being the different branches. the the executive branch headed by the president, the legislative branch made up of the uh House of Representatives in the Senate and the judicial branch comprised of the Supreme Court and the we call them inferior or lower uh federal courts, right? And each each of those branches has checks and balances of the others that has led to um a great deal of
15:18 stability in in the federal government of the United States. But there's another check and balance in our governing system in the United States and that is this idea of federalism whereby the federal government has certain uh responsibilities and duties and authorities that are given to it by the constitution. But and then those that are not, the constitution says specifically that those powers not given to the federal government are reserved by the states or
15:54 the people themselves. Right? So what could be constit what could be unconstitutional at the federal level could very easily be constitutional at the state level depending on that state's constitution. Ultimately, we the people decide what's constitutional through the process of amending either a state or the federal constitution. Right? And so we have the ultimate authority, we are the sovereign. So in
16:30 distinction to for example Great Britain at the time of the founding of this country where King George III was the sovereign, he was called the sovereign because he had the sovereign power. He had the power to direct the government. Now some of that power had been devolved to parliament by that time. Um so he wasn't an absolute monarch um the way prior uh British kings had been. Um but he was the sovereign in the United States. Um after the uh American Revolution,
17:05 the people have always been the sovereign. And and I know it annoys my friends when I say this, but or at least some of my friends when I say this, but to the extent that any one of us is complaining about something that government is doing or not doing, that responsibility is ours. Okay. We we people tend to blame it on uh politicians, bureaucrats, etc. But the bottom line is we have the government that for which we voted and if we don't like what the government is doing, there's a very simple way. Well, it it's
17:43 a it sounds simple anyway. There's but the way to change it is to vote to change it, right? And that that can that can be a lot of work in a country as large as ours. And that's one of the reasons why the federal government's powers are supposed to be limited because it's much harder to create a national movement than it is to create a movement within one's own state. So change can happen more rapidly in a state than it can for the country as a
18:18 whole. So, these are the kinds of issues that I I I would encourage you to consider uh on this Constitution Day. Um I hope you're flying your flag. I have mine out uh and it'll be flying, you know, until about six o'clock this this evening. Uh and there, you know, there are lots of great books on the Constitution. I hope you'll you have at least a copy of the Constitution. This is a neat little book. There's several different versions of this, but it in you see it contains the Constitution of
18:53 the United States, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Incorporate uh sorry, Articles of Confederation. And it's it's a nice little book uh nice little reference book. And uh and and and so um you know it's it's good for um just you know if if you're hearing people talking about oh this is constitutional this isn't you know you can go right to you know the source source document especially if they're saying well you know in accordance with you know uh article one of the constitution uh the president can do
19:30 blah blah blah. Well, no, that's not true because article one deals with uh the with with the legislative branch, not not the executive branch, right? So, right there, you know, whatever they're saying is is is probably suspect, right? And um so, uh you know, you know, you can go through and it it is um astonishingly short. So in this book, the entire text of the constitution constitutes uh 21 pages, okay? In this little book.
20:07 Right? So, uh, you know, if you've never read the Constitution, I I I can't encourage you enough to do so to, you know, for your own knowledge and and to understand your own rights and responsibilities as a citizen of the United States or as a resident here, legal resident here. Uh, and and if you're parents, uh, talk to your children about it. help them to learn about this document that is responsible for how our country is governed. And I,
20:46 you know, I I I've talked about this before. I I I think it's unfortunate the uh the heat of political rhetoric that goes on uh in our country. Um I'm I'm a big proponent of uh you know strong debate um and of u talking to people with whom I disagree. Understanding um what um uh you know what they think and why they think it. Um that's a very positive thing. I I would hope we would all want
21:21 to understand uh the perspective of the people with whom we disagree. Uh, and I, you know, it's not offensive to me if if people say something with which I disagree. I don't particularly care for the ad homonym attacks, but I, you know, people will do that sometimes. Um but there's no there there there's no reason for violence or calls to violence or um cheering for for violence that has been committed against people with whom I agree or even with against people with
21:57 whom I you know disagree. um that that is while it has certainly happened um you know throughout American history um I I don't think that that can in any way shape or form be considered uh to be the American way. So uh you know our our history is one of of writing uh pamphlets and booklets and side bills and speech speaking even fiery speech um and and debate. If you think of, for example, of the Lincoln Douglas debates,
22:32 um, they're a a a ter terrific demonstration of the best of what this country has produced in coming to terms with difficult issues in in the case of Lincoln and Douglas, the of course the most contentious issue being um what was going to happen with regard to slavery in this country. Um beyond beyond un you know reading the text of the constitution I I would say there are uh two other books that I think are uh essential for understanding um both the constitution and just the way our
23:07 country is works and is supposed to work. And one is the federalist papers which I mentioned uh not just just a few minutes ago. It gives the arguments in favor of a strong federal government and it does shed the light. It does shed light on what the framers of the constitution were thinking so that we have some context for understanding the intent of the constitution. And the other book which I'm in the midst of reading right now. I think I'm about
23:42 maybe about a third of the way through it is a book called Democracy in America by Alexis Dtoqueville. So Alexis Dtoqueville was a Frenchman. He uh lived you know during the time of the French Revolution and then he he moved to America in the early um 1800s I believe around 1823. He lived in this country for 20 years and researched its governmental structures, our society, um a broad range of issues. And then he wrote this book. Of course, the original
24:18 book is written in French. And I don't think it was written for Americans. I think it was written for his fellow Frenchmen and and Europeans comparing the country that America had become at that point to the countries that were developing in Europe uh at the you know during the same time period. Uh but I think that it's always good to get kind of an outsider's perspective uh of our country and uh I think Dtoqueville's is one of the most incisive if not the
24:55 most incisive that I have ever read. It is a long book. The copy I have is 758 pages. I read you know five, six, seven pages a day just to absorb them. Um, I have a practice of reading one long of choosing two or three very long books to read during the year, a few pages at a time so I can immerse myself in them while I read other shorter books, you know, more quickly. Uh, but I would um highly recommend to you Democracy in America by Dtoqueville. There's a number of of very good English translations. Uh, my French isn't quite good enough to
25:31 read political treaties in French. Um but you can certainly read it in English and understand what it what it is that uh Dtopville uh said now almost uh 200 Yeah. Yeah. Almost 200 years ago. So um with that I just want to read to you the um the most the the the most well-known uh part of the constitution and that is the the preamble. Um because in the end, this is what the framers of
26:08 the Constitution, they're they're expressing what it is they're trying to accomplish. And it says, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." And so on this day, this
26:44 Constitution Day, uh I I wish you uh a day of meaning um and and perhaps a day of celebration with family and friends with the hope that you'll be inspired to learn a little at least a little bit more about the Constitution and our country and perhaps uh engage with someone with whom you don't agree. in the tradition of America uh which is one of strong uh debate um and uh no violence.
27:23 So, I thank you very much for joining me today and wishing you a wonderful rest of the day and signing off as I always do uh my my my dear friend who was so um proud of our country. Um you know, I I I would certainly uh put her in the category of a patriot. Um, she never spoke loudly, but she always spoke um beautifully and and kindly to me. Marie, darling, you are my bell. Courage at all
28:00 times, my friends.