Happy Constitution Day!

"We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Happy Constitution Day America!

I surprise my students when I say a case can be made that September 17th could be thought of as another birthday for our country--or at least the finalization of the document which gave birth to the government we now have such a love/hate relationship with.

In my Public Policy class (for my MPA) we focus a lot on the Constitution since that's what describes what the government can and can't do, especially in terms of forming and implementing policy.

In my own U.S. History class we focus a lot on how our Constitution came about, as well as what's actually in it. Of course, most of us are most grateful for the Bill of Rights, which tells the government "don't even think about it" when it comes to infringing on some of our most treasured rights, such as freedom of religion and freedom of speech--without which this blog would probably not exist, to say the least.

So on this 17th day of September, let us remember 1789 and the miracle that occurred at Philadelphia which made this nation official, and which has guaranteed us a pretty darn good life in these United States. Here's to the keepers of the Constitution--the people!