Bill of Rights Day

On December 15, 1791, after years of debate and deliberation, our forebearers ratified the Bill of Rights. In doing so, they forever enshrined the fundamental rights and liberties we hold sacred as Americans and set in motion the greatest self-governance experiment in the history of the world.

- President Joe Biden

The ratification of the Constitution worried many people. 

They had received independence from an overbearing distant power less than a decade ago.  A new central power with a powerful executive and a novel new Supreme Court was formed with so much more authority. And, this one was right among them.

A blatant deficit was the lack of a listing ("bill" here means a form of list) of fundamental liberties. Some people, including Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers, diminished the need. The Constitution was a creation of "We the People," who voted for congressional representatives and (in some form) the executive. It was a document of limited powers. 

Anyway, the Constitution already had a variety of rights, including a right to a jury in federal criminal cases (Art. III). Okay! Why not add some more, including all the essentials such as religious liberty and free speech? 

James "the Father of the Constitution" Madison led the way. He was previously not very gung ho, but saw the way the winds were blowing. His pal Thomas Jefferson was a big supporter. Madison made it a campaign promise, one he kept when he became a member of the House of Representatives. He supported a Bill of Rights. 

The original two amendments involved the size of the House of Representatives (never ratified) and congressional pay (ratified in 1992 [sic]). The others underlined that a "republican form of government" did not just mean voting for our representatives. It contained basic individual liberty and restraints on the government. Likewise, the amendments gave the people a special role, including protesting, being part of the body in place for the common defense (militia), and serving as jurors.  

The Supreme Court took away a constitutional right from the American people, denying women across the Nation the right to choose, a right that had been enshrined in a half-century of precedent.  In recent years, more than 20 States have passed laws that make it harder to vote. A wave of anti-LGBTQI+ bills is threatening Americans’ freedom to live openly and authentically.  As a Nation, we have a duty to oppose these regressions and defend the values represented in our founding documents.

The Bill of Rights reflects that citizenship includes rights and responsibilities. The understanding today is that the Second Amendment is about individual ownership of weapons papers over the original understanding of a militia, made up of the people, as a balance against a dangerous select group of people running the military. The forgotten Third Amendment underlines that civil power is supreme, not the military.  

The Bill of Rights also underlines the dangers of the criminal justice system. A large chunk of the first ten amendments (with an interruption for civil juries) protect those who engage with the police, the courts, and the penal system. On the front, we might have an execution by nitrogen gas soon. 

The Ninth Amendment reminds us that many rights are not expressly granted in so many words. Where, for instance, is there explicitly a right to travel, choose your own job, or marry? Later amendments, which can also be understood to be part of the Bill of Rights, ended slavery, protected equality, and expressly gave people national rights that states had to protect.  Cases such as Dobbs unjustly disparage such basic freedoms. 

Hamilton and others warned about the limits of "parchment barriers." A fair warning. This does not erase the value of writing down what is important. A wedding ring is not a magical amulet. Nonetheless, it is an important symbol with real force. If a person sees another person with a wedding ring, they are likely in various ways to act differently. 

The Bill of Rights does more. It is not like the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, an advisory statement of universal truths. (December 10 is Human Rights Day)  I wish not to belittle the importance of this document any more than the Declaration of Independence. Nonetheless, it alone is not a binding document for the world.  

The Bill of Rights is an official part of the law of the land. It has the force of law, is defensible in the court of law, including subject to civil penalties when violated. Cynics will speak of how many people have their rights trampled. How we live in an unjust and unequal country. Fair enough. Up to a point.  

Our rights still matter. They still have bite. We do have an obligation to remember and honor them. We should not only remember that when we vote or serve in some governmental role. No. Our rights are important generally. They also regularly involve basic values, including religious liberty, which do not require government action to be essential.

People are not likely to think about such things too much this time of year. It is the time of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other holidays and celebrations. Nonetheless, it fits well among these. Hanukkah honors religious liberty.  Kwanzaa (more on that later) is a special day to honor African-American heritage.  Equality is essential there.  Christmas is based on the idea of justice for all of humankind.  

I hope you had a nice Bill of Rights Day.