There are more than a dozen countries in this world that restrict freedom of religion—including Iran and China.
Imagine being told your religion was unacceptable and being carted off to jail for offering a Bible to someone. This is not an unusual occurrence in some countries with state-sponsored religions.
In this country, we have a few sacrosanct words, known as the first amendment to the Constitution, that guarantee no one will be punished for the religion they choose to follow:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
When a person decides to burn the Koran, the Bible or any other sacred document in this country, he has the freedom to do so even if the overwhelming majority of us vehemently disagree with his decision. It is difficult for the citizens of some other countries to understand or to tolerate this kind of freedom. Yet it is the bedrock of our democracy. We have the right to disagree, to ignore, to protest against or to take the matter to court for a ruling, but we do not have the right to determine what another person is to believe. Unfortunately, that kind of freedom challenges other governments and cultures.
The freedoms we hold dear, seem uncontrollable to those who would dictate what people think, wear, worship and support. For example, some governments think if their citizens are educated the next thing that will happen is they will begin to think and ask questions—and that can’t be tolerated by those in power. Or they believe that only one religion is true and therefore no others can be taught or people might stray and the religion might falter. In the United States we have no such fear because our Constitution gives us the confidence and courage to tolerate diversity.
Sept. 17 is Constitution Day and a time we should all take a moment to be grateful for the strength and breadth of our system of government. We should reflect on our freedoms and know that they are protected.
That date was chosen because on Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitutional Convention met for the last time in Philadelphia to sign the document before it was sent to the 13 states to be ratified.
The founding fathers drew upon the wisdom of the ages to give us a gift that has endured for more than two centuries: the U.S. Constitution.
The blueprint for our government is not a long document—you can keep a copy in your shirt pocket. The basic document is under 5,000 words but it covers the building blocks for our three equal branches, the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government.
The first ten amendments lay out the rights of every citizen. How many times have you heard the phrase, “I know my rights”? We know them because they have been delineated for us in the Bill of Rights.
Winston Churchill famously said in a speech to the House of Commons in 1947: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
I went to the floor of the House of Representatives the week of September 17th and challenged all citizens to read their constitution each year on Constitution Day. I issue that challenge to you as well. It will help your understanding of what and who you are in this country and it will strengthen your values.
In a speech to the Senate in 1850, Henry Clay said, “The constitution of the United States was made not merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity—unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity.”
He has been proven correct, let us all work to protect it and keep it that way.
(Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard, represents the 5th Congressional District of Pennsylvania.)