Why America May Be Looking at the Lock Instead of the Treasure
For more than half a century, Americans have argued about a lock.
Lawyers have argued about it. Judges have argued about it. Politicians have argued about it. Presidents have argued about it.
Today, millions of ordinary Americans argue about it as well.
The lock is found within the Fourteenth Amendment.
The lock consists of a few words that have become the center of one of the most consequential constitutional debates in American history.
Yet a lock, by itself, has no value. A lock exists to protect something. A lock exists because something behind it is important. A lock exists because something behind it is worth securing.
Which raises an obvious question. What exactly was the lock protecting?
The Treasure Chest
Imagine a large treasure chest sitting inside a vault.
Within that chest are rights. Within that chest are protections. Within that chest are remedies. Within that chest are enforcement powers. Within that chest are legal guarantees. Within that chest are opportunities. Within that chest are promises purchased at enormous cost.
The cost was not measured merely in money.
The cost was measured in suffering. The cost was measured in slavery. The cost was measured in the Civil War. The cost was measured in blood. The cost was measured in sacrifice. The cost was measured in generations.
That treasure chest is what many believe deserves renewed examination.
The Forgotten Question
For decades, America has debated the lock.
Far fewer Americans have examined the treasure chest.
Far fewer Americans, We the People, have studied the constitutional architecture that existed before the lock was installed.
Far fewer Americans have examined the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
Far fewer Americans have examined the debates surrounding Reconstruction.
Far fewer Americans have examined the veto messages of President Andrew Johnson.
Yet these events formed the constitutional environment from which the Fourteenth Amendment emerged.
The result is that millions of Americans know of the lock. Few know the treasure.
Why This Matters
The present controversy concerning birthright citizenship asks Americans to focus once again upon the LOCK.
But before deciding what the lock means, should the Nation not first examine what the lock was designed to protect?
Should the Nation not first examine the constitutional circumstances that made the lock necessary?
Should the Nation not first understand the history that produced it?
These are not unreasonable questions. They are responsible questions. And responsible questions deserve responsible answers.
Before Opening the Lock
The purpose of the Constitutional Moratorium is not to keep the lock closed forever.
Nor is it to deny anyone a hearing. Nor is it to predetermine the outcome. Its purpose is far simpler.
Before America decides what the lock means, America should understand why the lock was installed.
Before America renders judgment, America should examine the foundation.
Before America reaches a conclusion, it should understand the story.
Because if the Nation has spent decades looking at the lock while ignoring the treasure chest, then perhaps it is time to open the vault and examine what has been there all along.
And if doing so reveals that America has been asking the wrong constitutional question, then that discovery may prove more valuable than any answer that follows.