Today, September 17, is "Constitution Day."  For Americans, one of the most important things one can do in terms of developing a person's view of civil government, is simply to read the Constitution.  It is an illuminating (and perhaps depressing) experience. . .

The Constitution lays out the nature and role of the Federal Government, and one of the most important things it does is enumerate the powers and responsibilities of the U.S. Congress in Article 1, Section 8.  Also particularly germane to American life today are the 9th and 10th Amendments.  Article 1, Section 8 enumerates explicitly what authority the Congress has (and, by inference, what powers it does not have).  The 9th and 10th Amendments say, in a nutshell, that each and every power not delegated to the Federal Govenment remains with the individual States, or with the people.  What does one make of this?  Simply this: political sovereignty (at the human, not the divine, level) rests with the States, or the people, and the Congress can only do those things that the States have officially given them the authority to do, as outlined in Artlce 1, Section 8.  Next time you read of this or that act of Congress, ask one simple question: did Congress have legal authority to do that, in light of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution?  Odds are it did not.  My.

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