Last week, we marked the anniversary of September 11–commemorations for the tragic actions of 19 suicidal psychopaths who murdered nearly 3,000 Americans in a single morning. The images of that day still haunt us. And yet, alongside our grief, we remember something else: For a brief, shining moment, we came together as one people. The world rallied to us. Neighbors helped neighbors. There was hope that tragedy might spark unity.

This week, we commemorate something different: the signing of our Constitution, the bold framework that created a federal republic. It was not perfect, but it was revolutionary. It divided power, checked ambition, and bound states and citizens into a shared covenant of liberty.

We should celebrate that. We should teach our children to take pride in it. But we must also be honest: Our federal republic is out of balance. The structure the framers built to restrain power and elevate deliberation has too often been ignored, twisted or betrayed. Congress defers to presidents. Presidents govern by executive........

© Yuma Sun