As far as sentimental value, that’s nice, but the Constitution is not an artifact, it is the Supreme law of the land (Article VI Section 2). It is very current and is the ONLY legal bulwark protecting our freedom against tyranny, which are the unconstitutional acts of the federal government.
What needs to happen more than a trip to DC is everyone availing themselves of actual copies of YOUR
1) The Declaration of Independence
2) The Constitution with all the amendments
to read, study, and learn with help from writings of solid authorities like Robert Bork.
The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence is particularly important because it lays out persuasive authority and proof of original intent for the presumption of the Constitution, as confirmed by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, that
1) We the People are presumed to have unalienable, God-given rights and freedoms. We are born with these rights and they are not given by man.
2) The people and the states via the Constitution created the federal government. All power to the federal government is delegated by the people and states via the Constitution. There is NO presumption of federal government right or power aside from that delegated by the Constitution. If it is not a power enumerated in the Constitution, it is not a valid federal power.
3) All powers and rights not enumerated and delegated by the Constitution to the federal government or prohibited by it from the states, are reserved to the States or to the people. This is a basic underlying presumption of the Constitution.
With that groundwork laid, read and study the Constitution with helps from solid, conservative, and knowledgeable teachers and writers like Judge Robert Bork who are not liberal theorists or judicial activists. Much conventional wisdom about the Constitution in our popular culture is erroneous because it is based on federal acts and Supreme Court decisions that either ignore the Constitution altogether or change it without a valid amendment process.
The battle for OUR Constitution, and, therefore, the battle for OUR freedom, is a battle to learn, and then demand the federal government abides by the Constitution AS WRITTEN AND ORIGINALLY UNDERSTOOD AND INTENDED.
Back in 2000, when Bork was at the American Enterprise Institute, I e-mailed him and asked if this had any implications on the concepts of nullification and secession. He didn't answer my e-mail.
Interesting point about the word “unalienable” (vs “inalienable”).
Unalienable means we can’t even GIVE those rights away.
Inalienable means they can’t be taken from us.