good reading
yesterday was the 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, when America, as a
young nation, made ten additions to its already revolutionary Constitution.
These amendments said we could speak our minds, worship freely, defend
ourselves, be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures, and expect to
be treated fairly if accused of a crime.
In contrast to almost all of the legislation Congress passes today, the Bill of
Rights is full of language such as “Congress shall make no law” and “The right
of the people… shall not be violated,” along with a guarantee that
non-delegated powers or those not specifically denied the states “are reserved
to the states respectively, or to the people.”
With this document, the Founders drew a line in the sand a few inches from the
government’s feet.
Not all of these 225 years have been kind to the Bill of Rights, though. It’s
been challenged, debated, and far too often just ignored.
Don’t be fooled into thinking this would have surprised the Founders.
We have the Bill of Rights precisely because the Founding Fathers knew
government can’t resist stretching its limits. Much like Benjamin Franklin’s
reported statement that we had a Republic if we could “keep it,” the Bill of
Rights relies on the people holding government accountable.
When some in government say “of course we can,” you and I are supposed to use
the Bill of Rights to say, “No, you can’t.”
Some believe government has grown too large to hold down with these chains,
that it’s too late to rein it back in. If the Bill of Rights were mere words on
paper, perhaps we could afford to indulge that feeling.
But they are not mere words. They are principles fundamental to who we are as a
people and what we represent as a nation. If we stop caring enough to preserve
them, we will lose more than a few liberties.
We will become something else entirely.
That’s one reason we must defend the entire Bill of Rights. If you expect to be
able to speak freely, then surveillance that shreds the Fourth Amendment stops
just being the other guy’s problem.
If you let the government decide the Second Amendment doesn’t mean what it
says, then why should it hold to a strict definition of due process or freedom
of the press?
We don’t have the luxury of playing favorites. We have the responsibility of
getting it right.
In a time where so many are divided, this provides us with a clear path
forward. We can unite on a Constitution that binds us together by the same
standard, and we can demand all politicians stay within those rules to best
benefit us all.
If that document needs to be changed, as the Founders expected it would, let’s
follow their example by properly amending it, as they did with the ten
amendments we celebrate today.
There’s no better time than the present to drop the status quo and adopt this
“new” approach.
I am excited for the upcoming opportunities we will have to institute
long-overdue reforms, roll back an overzealous and misguided bureaucracy, and
return to a government that works for the people instead of the special
interests.
Most of all, I am excited to continue to celebrate the Bill of Rights by
fighting for them every day in the Senate.
