What the Constitution Means to Me

By: Daniel Nardini

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - CommentaryNot many people may know this, but last Saturday, September 17th, was Constitution Day. This day is in celebration of the beginning of the creation of the U.S. Constitution back in 1787. It had become obvious to those who had created the Articles of Confederation that this loose system of government was not working, and so they tried to create a more unifying document. Then there was Shays Rebellion in 1788 that made the delegates to the constitutional convention rethink carefully what they were writing and so they included ten amendments that would become the Bill of Rights. These amendments, more than any other in a row, outlined the limitations of government and the rights individuals should have. These first ten amendments, more than anything else, have been the basis for not only our government but the absolute protections we as citizens of this country should have and have had.

In my view these rights under the U.S. Constitution are worth fighting for. Whether the fight is on a battlefield or in a court of law, the fight is necessary for us to preserve and protect our rights from any foe—whether that foe is an external force or even the U.S. government itself stepping out of bounds. Over the last ten years the U.S. government, in its attempts to “fight terrorists,” has openly attacked the rights Americans enjoy. Whether it be efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation trying to force public libraries to hand over lists of patrons or use torture against enemy detainees or threaten reporters with arrest, there have fortunately been individuals who have fought the government when it stepped out of bounds on the U.S. Constitution and when the U.S. government has tried to justify its extra-legal acts. Despite the U.S. government creating extra-legal organizations like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or allowing the Transportation Security Agency to conduct virtually limitless body searches of innocent people at airports, there are certain boundaries that even they cannot cross.

There are four absolutes that still very much remain with us despite government assault of these over the last ten years. First and foremost are freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of peaceful assembly. These things cannot be taken for granted, and a person like me who writes what I am writing now cannot do so without the U.S. Constitution. There is the freedom of choice and movement. If we wish to move from one place to another we can do so and if we so choose to leave the United States for good and even renounce our citizenship voluntarily if we desire. Third is our privacy and our homes being inviolable from warrant-less and unreasonable searches. The U.S. government has clearly tried to get around this and I have heard some very violent acts against innocent individuals in their own homes. But to the credit of our independent court system nine times out of ten these illegal acts have been condemned. The U.S. Supreme itself has ruled that no police or any other government force can search a home without a warrant from the court and without the approval of the homeowner where there is no search warrant. The final absolute is not facing arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and torture. Like the third point, this one too has come under assault from federal and state government agencies (especially sanctioning the Patriot Act which is an extra-legal law). And fortunately nine times out of ten there have been brave individuals and organizations who have challenged these things and in the majority of cases won against a government stepping out of bounds.

And that is exactly the point of the U.S. Constitution—keeping the government and the most powerful in bounds from arbitrarily taking away the rights we have today. The U.S. Constitution gives us the right to voice opinions whether popular or not, join whatever political party we want, join whatever union we want, and publish political, religious and personal opinions for wider audiences that may or may not be acceptable to the larger society. Because one of the most important things about the constitution also is protecting a minority from the tyranny of the majority. Because of this incredible document, which is the basis of our government and our entire legal system, we think the way we do and why a thousand opinions are allowed to flourish in this land. Because of all this, the U.S. Constitution is worth defending. In my view the creation of the U.S. Constitution should be made an official national holiday.

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