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Constitution confirms rights

Our Voice

Hickroy Daily Record Editorial

Published: September 16, 2009

Constitution Day is Thursday.

It's a day that will pass without a lot of fanfare, but we should remember that it is our Constitution that makes us a unique nation, one in which all power rests in the people, not the government.

We can amend the Constitution. Congress, the courts and the president cannot.

The Constitution grants nothing, it confirms rights that existed before the United States came into being — rights that cannot be taken away by any government or agency. Any law or decree that tries to do so is illegitimate and can and should be ignored until whoever initiated an abridgement of our rights can be removed from office.

It is incumbent upon the people to allow the Constitution to serve the public by electing representatives who place the nation and the Constitution above all else.

The people have the power of governance. The Constitution we revere says so.

Thursday, let us remind ourselves and those who pledged to serve the people that the Constitution — not a political party, ideology or whim — is the lifeblood of our nation. It is thus because generations have spent their blood defending America and the Constitution.

ONE PUBLIC EVENT is in Newton on Thursday, sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Says the league: "As the fundamental law of the land, The Constitution is our most important guide to the obligations and the limitations of government in America. Constitution Day, Thursday, is an opportunity for celebrating our country's unique achievement in crafting a written body of fundamental laws for the people's government."

The Constitution Day Celebration will be at the 1924 Courthouse from noon until 1:30 p.m. Activities will include the Maiden High School AFROTC Color Guard presentation; Crystal Davis, an attorney, will speak on the "Constitutionality of Constitution Day" and Dr. Tim Markley, Catawba County Schools superintendent, will lead a recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution.

It's one of the things the League of Women Voters of Catawba Valley do, in the organization's words, "to contribute to the furtherance of a healthy civic life by providing resources to our students for their continuing education in the study of the Constitution."