I just received unsolicited in the mail a booklet with the title “The Constitution of the United States & The Bill of Rights and all Amendments.”

I find this odd because you seem to be trying to promote the Constitution, and yet you call it by a different (and incorrect) name.

The Preamble to the Constitution reads:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

In case you missed it, it reads “Constitution for the United States of America.” The meaning is that the Constitution applies to the United States — it is “for” the United States.

You, on the other hand, say the Constitution is “of” the United States, meaning that the United States is an entity that owns things, including the Constitution. Thus, the United States can do what it wants with its possessions, including the Constitution. This clearly is incorrect.

The Constitution is the law of the land. It defines and governs the United States. It is not a possession. It is not subject to the whims of “the United States,” however you define that term.

I urge you to correct the name of this publication.

Greg Raven, Apple Valley, CA