Friday, December 15, 2006 marks the 215th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the very essence of our democracy.
The National Archives Experience Website says that during the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolution. They demanded a “bill of rights” that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. Several state conventions in their formal ratification of the Constitution asked for such amendments; others ratified the Constitution with the understanding that the amendments would be offered.
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States therefore proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution that met arguments most frequently advanced against it. The first two proposed amendments, which concerned the number of constituents for each Representative and the compensation of Congressmen, were not ratified. Articles 3 to 12, however, ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, constitute the first ten amendments of the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.
The Moultrie (Georgia) Observer offered an excellent editorial entitled “The very essence of our democracy marks a birthday on Friday,” in which they discuss the commemoration of this event in present-day context. Major among their observations are the following points:
- The most quoted are the first and second amendments
- The most embattled are the first and second amendments
- Americans in general, have scarce knowledge of what is in the Bill of Rights
In spite of that, Americans enjoy these guarantees of freedom:
- Americans are free to speak our opinions and choose our stands without fear of being jailed
- Americans are free to choose a religion, or to reject them all
- Americans are free to attend public meetings
- Americans are free to see how our government works and even to offer input
- Americans are free to publish our thoughts on a wide range of subjects and issues without fear of a knock on the door in the night that would imprison us
- Americans are free to own and bear arms
The last bullet above is under siege by the progressive left who are determined to disarm Americans in spite of our Constitutional right to keep arms; as we contemplate their determination, let us consider that just across our southern border and only ninety miles south of Florida none of these freedoms exist. Nor do they exist in MOST nations in the world.
Hat tip to NRA-ILA