The Constitution Is a Nation's Most Important Document

When a country or people bound together by common cultural and ethical ties wishes to form a government, it has to have principles and rules that make the government work for its people. This is for the simple reason that a government left to do as it pleases almost always gives itself too many powers, and the people are soon forgotten. Because government tends to be big and forceful, the people will suffer and not have enough power themselves to counteract the government.
We see this today in countries of the Middle East, where people have long been suppressed by faulty and repressive constitutions that give all power to the government and very little voice to the people.
It is for this very reason that constitutions are written. Constitutions are the written rules reflecting the will of a people to govern themselves in the manner they choose and to appoint officials to manage their national affairs by following these rules.
A constitution is the most important document a country possesses and it should be flexible enough to cover many unforeseen events while, at the same time, remaining firm in its commitment to follow several fundamental principles : personal liberties, right to assemble and demonstrate against the government, freedom of religion, and the all-important responsibility of its citizens to honor and protect the constitution that embodies their political will.
Today, the citizens of countries in the Middle East are feeling the first air of freedom, and with it, the great responsibility to draft a constitution that will ensure that their hard-won freedom will survive and prosper. Not an easy task by any means. And it is even more difficult when an older and less freedom-oriented constitution already exists.
The United States is a perfect example of this problem. Even before the defeat of the British in 1781, the American colonies had drafted what was called the Articles of Confederation. The document governed the new nation for a decade, but it didn’t work because it left too many important items vague and left too many powers in the hands of individual states which needed to be in the hands of a central (federal) government - such things as how to form and pay for an army, and how to tax citizens and for which purposes.
The constitutional convention was called in 1787 and in secret session, whose details were saved by James Madison in a daily diary, the current U.S. Constitution was drafted and approved by delegates from all the 13 states except Delaware, which chose not to participate. It then had to be adopted by the majority vote of the citizens (a smaller group then than today, composed mainly of property holders) of 9 0f the 13 states. Ratification came in 1788 and the real United States was born.
The U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution in the world in continual use and it has served as the model for many nations wanting to create a democratic government.
Tomorrow, I will use the American Constitution as a model to provide the framework for a modern constitution, containing all the essential elements but eliminating those that are particular to the United States.
Perhaps this will help those who are now struggling with the great and honorable work of forming just and democratic nations.