What Does it Mean?

In the history of the United States of America we have three defining documents that make us who we are as a nation, The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Each one of these documents had very tumultuous beginnings. They came about through controversy and disagreements. Regardless of the squabbles and arguments for or against they were ratified by a majority of the states of the time which established them as the Rules of Engagement that defined us as a nation.
When we look back in history we find that certain events and individuals shaped these documents. We were a fledgling nation struggling to survive. Without the men and women who put their lives on the line we would have been nothing.
But what did these founding members have in mind when they decided to wage war against the British Empire? Was there a preconceived notion of how things would progress or did the times and events drive these men and women to create these defining documents? For that answer we must peer into history and the lives of the people. Who were they? What defined them? Where were they going? Why did they do it?
In this blog I hope to answer a few questions. What do these documents mean? How is one to interpret them? Do the times change the meaning of these documents? What is the future for us as a Nation as defined by these documents?
In the near future we have events that are forming; the first women to run for president, the first black man running for president, the rules of engagement for the declaration of wars, social security, Medicare, emigration, etc. Are we going to let these events define us as a Nation or can we, should we take control by looking back in history and finding out what the intent of the Founding Fathers and Mothers was.
I am reminded by the words of George Santayana “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”