The US Constitution

Patrick Henry refused to go as he "smelled a rat" Rhode Island refused to send a delegate as they suspected it was an attempt to create a new government. Fortunately, for us; they were right and their worst fears came true -- the Constitutional Convention did produce a new government.

This government was far from perfect. Just a few years after its passing, the Sedition Act reminded us how fragile our right to free speech actually was. It is only though the litany of court cases brought forth since its signing, that the freedoms we hold near and dear to our hearts, really took shape. Without judges acting as the arbiters of liberty and the advocates of the defensless, this nation would surely perish from the Earth. As grandiose as that may sound, it beings into specific relief the issues we now face as a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is selected. I was encouraged to see that the Senators chose to ask questions about the intersection of technology and privacy. For the next 20 years are going to be an age where the Bill of Rights will be challenged in ways never imagined when it was put forth as the mollification it was.

To actually see the document is truly a gift we should all share. I have the good fortune to work near the Archives so I may go over whenever I want.

To stand before the altar that is liberty;
and be both humbled and elevated by its breath.
To stand before the document through whose timeless gaze;
we beseech a free life.
To stand in wonder as its subtle power envelopes all we touch;
and grants us passage unto liberty.

The US Constitution is is something that belongs to all of us (although the guards at the archive will shoot you if you bring it home). So, next time you are watching a confirmation process or someone on Law & Order cites the 4th amendment (or Michael Corleone takes the 5th), remember what this is all about and be happy that Patrick Henry did smell a rat -- and it was we!