There are a few things which are fundamentally vital to the success and maintenance of the U.S. Constitution.

If these vital things are lost or ignored, or even changed, the system will break down, and our freedoms will decrease.

These vital foundations include:

• Separations of power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
• The independence of each branch
• Checks and balances
• No ex post facto laws (laws passed and applied retroactively so that something  that is legal today may become illegal next week and you may be arrested and prosecuted for doing it even when it was legal)
• No bills of attainder (laws directed at specific citizens)
• The right to not be held by the government without being charged and having a warrant issued
• The various other vital freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights
• Separation of power between the federal and state governments