Dear visionaries,
Here is the problem. The oath taken by those who serve in the military involves defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, whether foreign or domestic. We are certainly going to war in Iraq, and we are doing so in order to accomplish “regime change.” This is a traditional war, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. Any attempt to do this without an express declaration of war on the part of Congress is therefore unconstitutional. Congress, and only Congress, declares war. It is not the prerogative of the commander-in-chief. It is not the prerogative of the United Nations. Congress declares war. The Constitution does permit the president to engage in some sorts of limited military action without such a declaration (e.g. Barbary pirates, bin-Laden), but to overthrow the government of another sovereign nation without a declaration of war is constitutional impudence, plain and simple.
I happen to believe that a case for legitimate war against Saddam could be made. But we haven’t made it. And the case we are making threatens our few remaining constitutional freedoms as much as anything Saddam is doing. But who are the culprits? Who thrashed the Constitution? All the progressives who show up for the upcoming march against the war should make a point of marching on themselves. They are the ones who have fought for, and achieved, an elastic Constitution. “It’s a living document, you see . . .” Arms don’t mean arms, speech doesn’t mean speech, rights don’t mean rights, and Congress doesn’t mean Congress.
All is not lost, however. Some elements of the Constitution are still obeyed. We still have two senators from every state.
Cordially,
Douglas Wilson
“Apologetics in the Void” are repostings from an on-going electronic discussion and debate I had some time ago with members of our local community, whose names I have changed. The list serve is called Vision 20/20, and hence the name “visionaries.” Reading just these posts probably feels like listening to one half of a phone conversation, but I don’t feel at liberty to publish what others have written. But I have been editing these posts (lightly) with intelligibility in mind.