In January, Fox News reported on a movement to scrap the Constitution for something more "relevant." Professor Louis Seidman used pejoratives to describe the Constitution, one referring to "its evil provisions." Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg was quoted as saying she would not look to the U.S. Constitution if she were writing a constitution in 2012. She is there to protect, defend, and interpret the Constitution. She can't do that if she doesn't believe in its premise and the dreams, hopes, and goals for which it stands, for which millions have served, bled, and died.

The Constitution is not perfect. Nothing created by humans is. But its premise of individual rights and freedoms is perfect. In its framework are procedures to correct flaws when found.

Some changes were easy--our Bill of Rights for one. Others required cataclysmic efforts, like the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery. Over the Constitution's life, its execution and administration have at times been imperfect. That was because the persons we elected to govern us through that document were imperfect--not its mechanics or premise.

The Constitution has stood the test of time. Since the concept of individual rights was codified by Hammurabi and the idea of democracy and freedom were born in city-states of Greece, no other governing document or vehicle has lasted as long.

Our rights and freedoms are not free. They are ensured by our Constitution. In the movie "Saving Private Ryan," Ryan was challenged to "earn this." I challenge you to earn what the Constitution has bought for us. I haven't. Not yet. But I hope that when I go to meet my maker and walk the gantlet of all those who have gone before me, they will not find me wanting.

Will they you?

William M. Santina

Spotsylvania