It’s hard to look at actor Richard Dreyfuss without imagining him as Matt Hooper, the bumbling oceanographer in the classic movie Jaws. Dreyfuss’s character provides a steady supply of scientific facts about the ever-menacing great white shark. These days, Dreyfuss is fighting a far more formidable foe than a toothy fish, although similarities abound.

In a star-obsessed culture, the average American consumer might be momentarily roused by the words of Richard Dreyfuss. This is a good thing. Without talking about the Constitution, we are destined to forget it. This precious document must be brought to the public conscience like never before, lest we fail to understand—and demand—the very liberties that most of us take for granted.

Something bigger is needed at this critical time to counter the vanishing understanding and embrace of our Constitution. Ronald Reagan told us “freedom is never more than one generation from extinction.”

We can’t remember anything, and we like it that way. The memory hole is being greased daily by an ever increasing culture of selfies and sound bites. Just weeks ago, the disappearance of a jumbo jet was on the lips of everyone, everywhere. Who cares now? The FCC is trying to silence free speech on the Internet, but we are more interested in the sexual proclivities of an NFL draft pick.

We are a culture fascinated with shiny objects while we ignore the fundamentals that were intended to guide this country and protect the most endangered minority, the individual. Maybe a Constitutional hashtag, or an app, would wipe away the drool from our mouths.

During a FOX NEWS interview, Dreyfuss rightly points out that “we don’t know enough about our Constitution or our history to know why we should be proud of it.”

By not knowing the limits of power, we grant the government unlimited power. Today, “executive order” is no less uttered than “twerking,” and it is a far more offensive gesture. And yet, we accept it in lieu of a strong understanding of the Constitution.

Dreyfuss also pointed out that— in reference to educational reform—“education is in the hands of the states…” The Constitution must be taught and embraced; otherwise it—and in turn the individual—will be eaten limb by limb by an unfeeling and impersonal government. We will be bound to fulfill the concern of Progressive thinker John Dewy when he said “children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone is interdependent.”

The Constitution is the antidote for collective thinking. The Constitution is the owner’s manual for this great country. Without it, we are a frustrated dad on Christmas Eve staring at the parts of something amazing he can’t assemble.

Richard Dreyfuss is right in stressing the importance of the greatest legal document ever constructed. We must actively seek to bring the Constitution to the public square otherwise it will be filled by something else.

Are Americans truly forgetting about the Constitution and what it means to the heart and soul of our great country? Give us your feedback below! Share your thoughts with us on Facebook or send us a tweet.

Written by Adam Michael Hamilton

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