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"Worldview training for all the World" ........ Psalm 50:12 Premier Worldview® Center 800-948-3101 |
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"Worldview training for all the World" ........ Psalm 50:12 Premier Worldview® Center 800-948-3101 |
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Bill of Rights: A Gift and a ResponsibilityBy: Amanda Costa 05/06/2003 Bill of Rights: A Gift and a Responsibility By: Amanda Costa 05/06/2003 Our Bill of Rights: A Gift and a Responsibility By Amanda Costa Boise, Idaho The right to keep and bear arms, the right to due process of law, the right to freedom of speech. For thousands of years of human history the majority of the people have been deprived of these, and other, basic freedoms. The liberties we often take for granted were a mere dream for many people in the past, and remain so for thousands of others living under tyrannical regimes today. Widespread liberty and equality for all classes of society have developed mainly in modern times with America being the greatest realization of these ideals. We have been truly blessed with tremendous freedom, which is protected for us by the Constitution. Today I would like to focus on a section of the Constitution especially important to freedom-the Bill of Rights. Please join me, ladies and gentleman, in examining this vital portion of our Constitution. It comes as a surprise to modern Americans that many of our founding Fathers were against having a Bill of Rights added to the Constitution. Despite the fact that most state constitutions had bills of rights, the idea of including one in the federal Constitution came up late in the Constitutional convention and was rejected with little discussion. The idea of having a bill of rights is so engrained in our minds today that this action on the part of our Founders, at first, seems shocking and even repulsive, but the Founders had well-reasoned arguments for their position. Even if we do not agree with their ultimate conclusion, examining these reasons can strengthen our understanding of the Bill of Rights. First, the Founders viewed the entire Constitution from beginning to end a declaration of the political rights of the American people. It speaks of our right to a republican form of government, our right to writs of habeas corpus, our right to a country free of aristocracy, and so on. In light of this idea, the founders believed adding a further enumeration of rights would be superfluous, and as we will see later, even dangerous. The second objection to adding a bill of rights came from the Founder's deeply held belief that the Constitution is an "express-powers document", meaning that the national government had only the powers explicitly declared in the constitution and no others. The Constitution did not grant the government power to trespass on the rights of Americans so it simply should not do that. According to the Founder's views no further prohibitions were necessary. Alexander Hamilton felt this to be the strongest argument against a bill of rights. He wrote in Federalist Paper No. 84 "For why declare that something shall not be done which there is no power to do? Why for instance, should it be said that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained when no power is given by which these restrictions may be imposed?" Hamilton further warned that a bill of rights could be misconstrued to actually take freedom from the American people. An effort was made to prevent these consequences by inserting Amendment 10 into the constitution, which says "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." Despite this clause, Hamilton's fears seem to have been justified. Today our government has taken on duties that our Founders never imagined it would such as regulation of private businesses or provision of certain services to the people. Both our rights and our Constitution have suffered as a result. The third objection our Founders had to a bill of rights was that it is impossible to name every right possessed by individual human beings. James Wilson commented on this to a meeting of Pennsylvania citizens. He said, "Enumerate all the rights of men? I am sure that no gentleman in the late convention would have attempted such a thing." The founders feared that naming a few rights of man in a bill of rights would lead people to believe those were his only rights, in exclusion of all others. Noah Webster sarcastically proposed this clause to complete the list of unalienable rights, "'that Congress shall never restrain any inhabitant of America from eating and drinking, at seasonable times, or prevent his lying on his left side, in a long winter's night, or even on his back, when he is fatigued by lying on his right." In an attempt to prevent this misunderstanding, Amendment 9 was inserted into the Constitution. It says, "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Despite these objections from our Founders; the people and the states clamored for a bill of rights during the ratification period. Many were afraid the national government would trespass on the rights of the people if they were not clearly stated. Opponents of the Constitution used its lack of a bill of rights as a key argument against it. It is probable that some states would have refused to ratify the constitution had not George Washington and other key men promised a bill of rights would be added later. Once a new government was established under the Constitution, 189 suggested amendments were sent to Congress. Largely due to the efforts of James Madison these amendments were condensed to 17 and brought before Congress, which approved 12 of them. These 12 were then sent to the states, which ratified 10 of them, and our bill of rights became effective on December 15, 1791. While I recognize our Founders' valid objections to a Bill of Rights, I am glad it was added to the Constitution. I believe when we remember our Founders' cautions and properly understand our bill of rights it can serve to promote and protect liberty. We should truly appreciate our entire Constitution, including the Bill of Rights as a gift passed on to us by our Founders. However, I believe there is a danger in focusing so much on the rights themselves that we forget the responsibilities that accompany them. Freedom, by its very nature has a price. That price has been paid for us by thousands of men who have died on the battlefield defending our country. It has also been paid by public servants throughout our history who have worked to uphold our Constitution and better our nation. We today must also do our part to preserve freedom. But sadly our society wants freedom for selfish reasons and tries to ignore the obligations that come with it. The first part of preserving freedom comes in using it properly. When freedom is exercised properly it not only blesses individuals, but it can grow and prosper society as well. But when freedom is abused, it harms society and eventually leads to chaos and anarchy. Thus, it is one of our first duties as Americans to learn to exercise freedom wisely. For example, as we enjoy our freedom of speech and the press, we must use it responsibly by avoiding falsehood and slander. We may enjoy the freedom to keep and bear arms but that must be tempered by the responsible and safe handling of weapons. But perhaps one of our greatest responsibilities, as Americans, lies in defending the Constitution itself. This document provides a system of government that is designed to promote liberty and stability in society. But tragically many people misunderstand the true meaning of our Constitution or ignore it entirely. We cannot expect American liberty to continue long without the document that protects it. The Bill of Rights may list some of our liberties, but it is the Constitution that prevents their violation. As Present-day Americans, we must rediscover our Constitution and renew our commitment to it. Such action can start at the basic level of simply reading and studying the Constitution for ourselves. Further actions could include understanding current events in government affairs and how they affect our rights, voting responsibly, writing to government officials and participating in government. When we as Americans take seriously our duty to understand and defend our liberties and our Constitution, we can be sure that both will have a strong foundation on which to stand for many generations.
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