#1397 foundation

I recently was given a copy of the U.S. Constitution. I may have read it before in a high school history class, but it has been a long while since I absorbed the words.  In this politically charged season and with the impending appointment of a new Justice to uphold it, I decided to read it again.

This time, I was struck at how short it really is. The entire nation's democracy is spelled out in just a few pages, and the relevance has endured for over 200 years. When today it takes thousands of words to craft a legislative act, it is amazing that the Founders were able to outline the structure for the whole democracy in a mere seven articles.

It is a beautiful document, beginning with the Preamble:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

What do your founding documents say? Maybe today is a good time to take a moment to really read that mission statement or vision document. We may have seen them before, but often they blend into the background and become invisible. Today is a good day to look at them with new eyes and commit to bringing them to life.

-- beth triplett

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