12.15.1791
By Shawn Healy
Today we celebrate the 215th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Our signature artwork at the Freedom Museum, 12.15.1791 (see image to the left), marks this monumental event. The sculpture features a hanging timeline of paper-like metal plates with inscriptions of common people exercising their First Amendment rights from 1791 through present-day.
The 45 words of the First Amendment have weathered the test of time, as relevant in an age of individual pamphleteers of the colonial era as it is to an army of bloggers in the digital age. The five freedoms matter more now than ever as the mechanisms of communication evolve at an exponential pace, those 45 words buoying us through this raging sea.
When we construct a multi-denominational display representing a myriad of faiths during the holiday season we utitlize our freedom of religion.
When we wear a t-shirt denouncing the President or the Iraq war we exercise our freedom of speech.
When we publish our daily musings on indvidual web logs we invoke the freedom of the press.
When we gather at Federal Plaza in Chicago to protest current immigration policies we enjoy our freedom to assemble.
When we write our alderman to voice our disgust for the latest nanny state measure to pass the city council we use our freedom of petition.
Only by understanding, valuing, and exercising our five freedoms will we protect them for future generations. Bill of Rights Day is the perfect occasion to pay homage to the bellwether of freedom in America, the First Amendment.
Today we celebrate the 215th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Our signature artwork at the Freedom Museum, 12.15.1791 (see image to the left), marks this monumental event. The sculpture features a hanging timeline of paper-like metal plates with inscriptions of common people exercising their First Amendment rights from 1791 through present-day.
The 45 words of the First Amendment have weathered the test of time, as relevant in an age of individual pamphleteers of the colonial era as it is to an army of bloggers in the digital age. The five freedoms matter more now than ever as the mechanisms of communication evolve at an exponential pace, those 45 words buoying us through this raging sea.
When we construct a multi-denominational display representing a myriad of faiths during the holiday season we utitlize our freedom of religion.
When we wear a t-shirt denouncing the President or the Iraq war we exercise our freedom of speech.
When we publish our daily musings on indvidual web logs we invoke the freedom of the press.
When we gather at Federal Plaza in Chicago to protest current immigration policies we enjoy our freedom to assemble.
When we write our alderman to voice our disgust for the latest nanny state measure to pass the city council we use our freedom of petition.
Only by understanding, valuing, and exercising our five freedoms will we protect them for future generations. Bill of Rights Day is the perfect occasion to pay homage to the bellwether of freedom in America, the First Amendment.
3 Comments:
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Hi Shawn. Thanks for your insights on this blog. You were always a thoughtful kind of guy, guided by a good moral conscience.
I'm very thankful for the everyday freedoms we enjoy as Americans. I often worry, though, that Americans have forgotten who laid the foundation of the freedoms we have. The first words of our constitution compel me to believe that the western concepts of freedom come from a distinctly Christian worldview. The ideas that "all men are created equal", the focus on the individual, and limits on state power are largely Christian ideas.
Chuck Colson, the late Christian apologist recently wrote:
'Another way that Christianity contributed to our concept of freedom was its stress on the individual, especially in the moral realm. The Christian idea of Free Will meant that, instead of being captives to fate, people were responsible for their actions and choices. As a result, people increasingly saw themselves as having control over their lives. Western ideas about freedom are rooted in this Christian understanding of the individual.'
Not only am I thankful for my freedoms, but, ultimately, I know from Whom they come from.
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