Symbolism is no substitute for substance — but symbolism is important at the right time and place.
You may have read or heard British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s famous address vowing to defend Britain from Nazi Germany. He said, in part, “We shall fight in France. We shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.”
Churchill’s address was not, in itself, the “fight.” But it symbolized the war effort, and it inspired not only the British but freedom-loving peoples around the world.
The new Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives is now being faulted for its plan to read the text of the Constitution on the floor of the House today. The reading is mere “symbolism” and “grandstanding,” critics say.
We freely concede that the reading of the Constitution in the House is symbolic. It will not, in itself, repeal a single unconstitutional law or a single bit of spending that is nowhere authorized by the Constitution.
But part of the reason why such laws are enacted to begin with is that many lawmakers either don’t know the Constitution or ignore its limits on federal power.
A reminder to them, in the form of a reading of the Constitution, is a wholesome act. Then the readers and the listeners ought to follow that symbolic act with the hard work of restoring constitutional governance.