There has recently been a heated discussion over the mention of God in the new Constitution that is being crafted by the National Assembly. It is not clear what all parts in this discussion are expecting from the constitution. It would be helpful to take a step back and clearly state what our responsibility as citizens is as we complete this mission.
It is a great opportunity that we have, and a great responsibility too, for we are drafting the constitution of our republic. There is no doubt that the several unsuccessful attempts to a new start have marked this very important and meaningful duty as vain or pointless. Yet, if our objective is to succeed, not only as a political party, or an ideological movement, but as a democracy, as a culture, as an independent sovereign nation, we must make of this constitution the solid building block for our nation to grow on. And as such, this constitution must not represent the ideology of the present, the convictions of the few, or the beliefs of the many. We must not let the constitution become a mere code of conduct, a cloud of disperse petitions, or a long list of acknowledgments of disparity.
The noble project, the creation of our constitution, must look deeper into who we are as a people and outline the best project for our future. We must stand back and ask ourselves, who are we, as Ecuadorians. What is it that draws us together and what do we want for our future. We must make of this constitution a guarantee that the conditions of this project will be possible. Still, we have to understand that it will not be perfect, and we must allow for evolution. We have to realize that the constitution will be undoubtedly impregnated with our temporal views, our preconceived ideas, our conventions; it will be intrinsically a product of our time, which will necessarily need to be perfected in the future.
The inclusion of a God, any god, as well as a specific culture, a political agenda, an architectural style, or a soccer team, severely undermines the project of the constitution itself, and its effectiveness as the building block of our future. Furthermore, including this kind of agenda in the constitution will inescapably alienate a portion of the constituents and will forevermore harm their relationship with the republican process… once again.