Ricky Hatch for Clerk/Auditor

“How is the Constitution relevant in today’s world?”
By Ricky Hatch, Farr West, Utah

One brisk September morning in 1998, I walked from the bus to my work in downtown Warsaw, Poland. My family and I just moved there for an 18-month tour. Suddenly a policeman blocked my path and began speaking in Polish. “Przepraszam (excuse me),” I stammered, “but I don’t speak Polish.” He responded in English, “Your passport please.”

My employer and the U.S. Embassy had warned me about this ploy — police illegally taking your passport and not giving it back until you have bribed them. I did as I was trained, saying, “I’m not required to carry my passport, but here’s a photocopy of it.” Clearly frustrated, he spat out, almost condescendingly, “You Americans — you never follow the rules!” and waved me on.

The more I’ve thought about his statement, the more I think he was right, and the more grateful I am that over 200 years ago, 39 men in Philadelphia decided not to follow the rules, either.

Stephen Covey said, “Love people, but be loyal to principles.” Our Founding Fathers used true principles, ancient and modern, to create a governmental form never before seen. The embodiment: the U.S. Constitution — a document that has helped hold our country together through foreign attacks, civil war, depression, assassinations, impeachments and even hanging chads.

Two years after that encounter with the Polish policeman, my wife and I found ourselves writing to the Bavarian Minister of Education, asking for the right to educate our children in the manner we felt was best for them but which did not conform to current German law. The reply was short, cold and amazingly revealing: “To allow you to do this, we would need to change the law, and we just don’t do that.” To this minister, the tail wagged the dog, the letter overshadowed the spirit, and the bathwater had to be discarded, regardless of what was in it.

Thank Heaven our Founding Fathers valued principles over laws. These principles: agency, the proper role of government, basic human rights, sovereignty of the people, etc., afford us a living government, one that can ebb and flow, while remaining anchored in truth. These principles make our Constitution as relevant today as it was in 1787.

So with such a solid foundation, is our government perfect? Clearly not. Some party politicians seek votes and donations before seeking truth. Some judges cite international law to justify departures from constitutional principles. And worst of all, most everyday citizens sit and do nothing about it.

John Adams wrote to his son that public service “must always be done by somebody or other. If wise men decline it, others will not; if honest men refuse it, others will not.”

The need for wise and honest statesmen and stateswomen has never been greater. Some must work in governmental positions; others must lead successful and ethical businesses. Some must preach repentance, and others must teach us and our children the principles of good government. But we each must do something. If we don’t, someone else will.

Winner, Constitutional Essay Contest, Weber Sentinel News, 2005