I’ve been thinking about the U.S. Constitution a lot lately. Of course I learned about it in high school civics class. I even used to tote a copy around in my briefcase (back in the day when people carried those) when I was lobbying in Washington, D.C., and various statehouses. But, it’s not something I’ve thought much about in the intervening years — until recently.

I’m writing to share why the Constitution is such an important document, and how everyone can learn more about it by attending the “Constitution 101” program at the Saranac Lake Free Library on Thursday, May 22, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

According to the U.S. Senate’s webpage, the U.S. Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. While written in 1787, it holds the answer to many timely questions. For example, why do we have an executive, legislative and judicial branch of government? Turns out, these were established by the Constitution to ensure a balance of powers. Why do Americans have the freedom to assemble, to speak out, to practice their many faiths? The answer is simple — it’s because the First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees these rights.

Why am I even American? Because I was born here to parents who survived Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II and sought refuge in the U.S. after the war. My citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution.

One answer not found in the document itself is why it has survived the test of time. I found an answer to that question in an unlikely place, Peter Sagal’s “The Incomplete Book of Running!” The author goes on a tangent in the book to describe a talk he gave about the Constitution in Hamilton, New York in 2013. In this speech, Mr. Sagal wanted to address a basic question, “Why did our constitution work when so many other national constitutions have failed?”

After asking a lot of people what the Constitution means to them, Mr. Sagal sums it up this way in his speech: “Because even if the citizens of this country don’t know much about the Constitution — its language, its history, the complexities of constitutional law as established by two centuries of Supreme Court jurisprudence — they believe in it.”

Mr. Sagal continues, “the Constitution was and remains a communal agreement, an imaginary construct given weight and meaning by collective belief.” He concludes, “If enough of us stop believing in it, if we reach some tipping point, unknowable until we reach it, when enough people cease to honor it or any of its provisions, then it will fade away.”

What an important message, and a tremendous responsibility. I hope that reading this will prompt you to refresh and expand your knowledge of the Constitution. You can start by attending the “Constitution 101” program hosted by the Saranac Lake Free Library on Thursday, May 22, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

In this free community program, which is open to all, Joe Thill, a teacher of U.S. history and government at Saranac Lake High School, will provide the historical background behind the framing of the Constitution, a basic explanation of its principles, and discuss how our government functions. Those who attend the event can take home their own pocket-sized Constitution.

If you can’t make it to the library program, you can easily read the Constitution online or find it in one of those dusty civics books you keep meaning to recycle. Talking about it with family and friends is another way to keep the document alive. Who knew what I could learn in a lengthy discussion with my adult nephew about the Fifth Amendment which, by the way, guarantees no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.

With your due diligence, and our collective knowledge of and faith in a timeless document, the Constitution can continue to unite us as a nation.

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Tammara Van Ryn lives in Saranac Lake