Hurrah for the Constitution

So, you think you have rights? Of course you do. The U.S. Constitution says so.

The Constitution is the world’s greatest civil document. It gives all power to the people and tells government what it can do. It has a main body and diverse amendments. The first 10 are called the Bill of Rights. They were adopted in 1791.

The Bill of Rights solidified the peoples’ power over government. In fact, the 10th Amendment basically says that if the Constitution does not specify the federal government can do something, the federal government cannot do it.

This has been a bone of contention among the people and politicians for ages. But the amendment is there, much to the chagrin of some mongrels and a few scoundrels who have never quite grasped the notion that government serves the people and not the other way around.

Anytime I hear somebody say a part of the Constitution is outdated, old-fashioned or no longer applicable, I immediately write off that person as an ignorant clown (or mongrel). I do not care to debate the applicability of the Constitution, and I disagree that it is subject to interpretation.

Laws are interpreted to see if they are constitutional. The emanations of government must pass the test of the Constitution. We do not engage in litigation or discourse to see if the Constitution fits the law. The principles expressed in the Constitution are as good today as they were in 1791, and they will remain so into infinity.

Just in time for the Fourth of July -- and the first anniversary of the 1 for All First Amendment campaign initiated by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and its partners -- is a test on the Constitution. The association has teamed with USA TODAY to create the Great First Amendment Quiz, a 20-question online test of your "Freedom IQ."

I took the test. I must admit I missed a couple of questions – not about the Constitution itself, but events connected to constitutional challenges. And I guessed at one, correctly. If you take the test, you probably can figure out which one it was. Usually, the older the question, so to speak, the better I do. Unlike me, however, the Constitution doesn’t age or tend to grow moss.

It’s not forgetful, either.

I entreat everyone to take the test. It’s fun, it’s educational, and it’s testy. It might challenge some of your notions about our Constitution.

Basically, we can do, say and act any way we want – and own anything we want – unless it violates the rights of another citizen. So we have to look out for each other. We don’t have to chum around with people we don’t like, but we really must respect their rights. For anything constitutional, we the people afford it equal protection.

Our Constitution is built upon rights that no human or human convention can grant. These are inalienable rights that have existed since the beginning of the world. If the world still stands after we’re gone, the rights will remain.

This puts a burden on us, the people. We cannot tolerate any assault on our rights and our Constitution. Our defense of liberty is the only thing that preserves our way of life. The quantity and quality of our devotion to the Constitution and our rights measures our collective goodness.

If we fail to be good to our Constitution, we fail to be good to ourselves. If we fail each other in regard to freedom and rights, our goodness is gone and we will surely fail as a nation.

I did not invent this notion. You may look up “America is good because her people are good …” at your leisure.

We can give representatives and agents permission to conduct our governmental affairs, but the strength of America is a direct result of our willingness to share our freedoms with all our citizens. We don’t have to party together, but we must stand united in our conviction that our Constitution and way of life are priceless.

All we have to do is deny one constitutional guarantee to one citizen, and our nation’s foundation quakes.

Hey, it’s the Third of July, another day in the Land of the Free. I can think of a lot of things that could make the country, or at least my life, a little better but it’s not the Constitution’s fault.

Use the link below to evaluate your Freedom IQ. You can take the quiz until you make a hundred. Like I did. On the second try.

 THE LINK — http://1forall.us/

 Tip: There are two identical objects on the web page that look like portals to the quiz. Use the second one, the one on the bottom.

 Larry Clark is a Record staff writer. Reach him at lclark@hickoryrecord.com.