The Giant JENGA Game

Dear Boo and Bubble,

I know that both of you have played JENGA where a tower is carefully constructed out of blocks and the object of the game is to see how many blocks can be removed before the tower tumbles down in a loud heap.  You might remember at Aunt Bee’s and Uncle Drew-Boo’s wedding this may at Camp Pinnacle, one of their friends brought a huge JENGA set that he had made with blocks about a foot long.  The tower rose to over six feet tall and when the critical block was removed which caused the tower to collapse, the sound was deafening –  like a cannon going off that could be heard all over the camp.  It’s all fun and a great test of analytical skills, touch and just plain luck.

However, right now, I feel like our country is in the middle of a gigantic JENGA game where block after block are being removed without much thought.  Some might argue that many of the blocks in the tower are unnecessary, are not load bearing and, therefore, add nothing to the strength of the tower.  What these blocks might be varies with each individual’s priorities and persuasions.  However, at some point, when someone decides that the foundational blocks must go, the reverberations from the collapse will be so extraordinary that they will be felt for generations to come.  

What might some of these critical blocks be?  You really don’t have to look very far or hard to find them.  They are in the embedded in the constitution of the country – the sacrosanct document upon and around which our system of government is built.  Our collective JENGA tower, if you will.  Let me give you some examples of the ones that I think should never be cajoled, no matter how gently, from their place.

The First Amendment - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petitition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The Fourth Amendment - The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The Fifteenth Amendment – Section 1 - The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

The Nineteenth Amendment - The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

(I know without doubt that some would say the Second Amendment is by far the most important block.  But, I would argue that if we remove all the others and let that one stand, what’s the point of the tower?)