On December 15 two hundred and thirty-one years ago, the first amendments to the United States Constitution, often called the Bill of Rights, were ratified. Had the Bill of Rights not been promised by the framers, it is entirely possible that the entirety of the U.S. Constitution might not have had enough support to have been ratified.
The Bill of Rights and the rest of the United States Constitution are a testament to the foresight of America’s Founding Fathers. Seeing the deficiencies in governments around the world, they crafted a living document that is able to adapt with the changes in society. They recognized that the needs of the future may change from the needs of the present and built a mechanism into the Constitution to update the law of the land.
However, that does not mean that we should be taking its protections for granted. As I often say, democracy is not a spectator sport. It requires diligence from everyone in American society. We must use the tools at our disposal to uphold American democracy, whether that be voting, running for office, or contacting an elected officials to voice your concerns.
Only by being willing to fight for American democracy will we be able to preserve it. This past Election Day was a heartening display of Americans around the country rejecting candidates who cared nothing for democratic norms or democracy itself. We must stay ever vigilant to reject those among us who would be willing to dispose of American democracy in search of personal or political power. Like our Founding Fathers, we must fight to preserve the ideals of our country and “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
