My Thoughts On Life, Liberty, and Everything Else

How many of you knew that today (technically tomorrow, but observed today) is Constitution Day?  How many of you know what that is?

On 17-September-1787, our 4200-word Constitution was signed by 39 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention – which began in on 25-May-1787.  It took 4 months of hard work by delegates from the several states, to come to a general consensus on a Constitution which would frame the best government, that the best minds of the day could come up with.

Not all were satisfied.  Some felt that a Bill of Rights should be included – to specially protect certain freedoms that were essential to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  The first call for a Bill of Rights came on 12-September-1787.  However, it was not until the Constitution had been sent to the States for ratification that it became clear that such as Bill of Rights would be essential to gain ratification and full acceptance.

In exchange for an agreement that the Constitution be amended with the Bill of Rights, the several States agreed to ratify it.

After the first Congress went into session, James Madison wrote what would become our Bill of Rights – the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.  These were intended to protect those essential liberties.  This was introduced jointly by Congress on 25-September-1789, and was fully ratified on 15-December-1791.

I’d recommend that all of  you take some time to read both The Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  They are amazing documents, and they are a legacy that all of us must uphold and protect.

I’m thankful for them.  I hope you are too.

I just do not understand some people…

From http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=17157556

SALT LAKE CITY — Ten years ago anyone could walk up to an airline gate to wish a friend or family member good bye, but then came September 11, 2001. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration was just the start of how security in this country would change. “People understand that we are in a different era now and that we have to give up some of our, what we believed were rights, in order to be safe and secure,” said Dwayne Baird with the Utah Department of Public Safety. Baird was a Salt Lake City police officer during the 9/11 attacks and was preparing for the 2002 Olympics. He later worked for the TSA and then transitioned to his current job with the state DPS.

There is a quote that if often attributed to Benjamin Franklin which is very appropriate here…

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Oh what wise men that were raised up in those days.  They were willing to put on the line their own lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

They did so for US – the generations that would follow them – that WE would have secured for us the liberty that they fought for, and that many died for.

And here we have Dwayne Baird throwing all of that down the toilet.  Dwayne, I’d like to ask that you resign from your position, and hang your head in shame.  ANYONE that would say that – especially working in government here in Utah, where there is a more full understanding of those men and their place – should not be a part of ANY public institution.

WE THE PEOPLE must never accept the idea that we have to give up freedom or rights in order to be secure.  In a truly free society, bad things can and will happen.  We must prepare, and be vigilant, but we must also accept the responsibility for our PERSONAL SAFETY, and not be willing to let our government take away rights or freedoms in order to obtain it.

If we do, we are throwing away a sacred legacy that was paid for with the blood of good and honorable men.  And if we would do so, then we do not indeed deserve the legacy they bought for us.  And that is ULTIMATELY SAD for anyone that call themselves AMERICAN.