One of My Favorite Characters Is Often Heard To say: "Everyone Counts, or No One Counts."

That's pretty much the sentiment that this country was founded upon. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Sad then, that these words, written 163 years ago, are still true for a large swath of our own citizens.

For the present, it is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race. Is it not astonishing that, while we are ploughing, planting and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships, working in metals of brass, iron, copper, silver and gold; that, while we are reading, writing and cyphering, acting as clerks, merchants and secretaries, having among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators and teachers; that, while we are engaged in all manner of enterprises common to other men, digging gold in California, capturing the whale in the Pacific, feeding sheep and cattle on the hill-side, living, moving, acting, thinking, planning, living in families as husbands, wives and children, and, above all, confessing and worshipping the Christian’s God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men!

Join me, please, in trying to move our country closer to those ideals espoused in our Constitution.
 

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Happy Independence Day!

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Author: Emma Lazarus

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

- Declaration of Independence

 

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 

- Preamble to the United States Constitution

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

- Amendment IV, the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights

 

Why is This Controversial Again? . . . Oh. . . . Yeah. . . .

The Universal Declaration 

of 

Human Rights

The PREAMBLE begins:

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, . . . 

What follows the Preamble is 30 RIGHTS to which some feel they are entitled but others are not, including . . .

Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty 

and security of person.

Sound familiar?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. . . .

Hey, LOOK . . . . . . . a Flag!

With all the fighting about the 1st amendment (freedom of religion, speech, & press) and the 2nd amendment (right to bear arms),

We seem to have forgotten about the 4th amendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

We also might want to remember the 9th amendment:

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

And the 10th amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

9 & 10 kind of go together.


In fact, most of what I see in the news today makes me think that we need to go back and read what our Constitution actually says,  especially our politicians.

Many patriotic people would be surprised.


If anyone is interested, here are links to: 

the DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE,
the CONSTITUTION,
the BILL of RIGHTS (that's Amendments 1-10),
and AMENDMENTS 11-27.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL

Lately, I feel a great deal of sadness and anger as I watch good people turn their backs on compassion and mercy, and count their fellow humans as having less value than the dirt beneath their feet. This phenomenon has crossed all barriers; age, class, politics, economics.

Times are frightening and uncertain for most of us, citizens of what our founding fathers called "The Great Experiment."  And like starving dogs, people are ready to trample the homeless, poor, uninsured, sick, different, at the mere thought that these people might take something from them. And this is the time of year dedicated to peace, love, and charity.

The past few years have been hard for my family. We have, and continue to, deal with many trials. But so, so many are suffering much worse than we are right now. Shelters, Soup kitchens, pantrys, and charities of all kinds are finding themselves unable to meet the need. People who work hard are finding themselves in a place they never thought they'd be.

The hole that was dug the past few years is deep, and it will take many more before we have recovered. So what do we do in the mean time? Remember the starving, homeless people who came to this country over 200 years ago. Without the kindness of strangers they might surely have faced a different kind of fate.

There are really many options. In my side bar are two charities which directly benefit Victims of domestic violence, and Needy classrooms, respectively.

And listed below are some links for volunteering locally. This is also a way to help our kids learn valuable skills they will need to be good citizens when they grow up. It is also a way to show them the real spirit of thanksgiving.

And to those who would incite hatred and acrimony. Remember, we declared our independence by proclaiming that ALL are equal. And in our Constitution, if WE does not stand for ALL it stands for NONE.

LINKS:
inforUm
A Nationwide Dialogue About Housing, Poverty, and Homelessness.

VolunteerMatch
Where volunteering begins

Habitat For Humanity
Connect with Habitat in your community

Helpindisaster.org
Register to volunteer in disaster recovery

LIBERTY

Does this sound familiar?
Any idea where it comes from?

"...and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security,"

Right! It's our own Declaration of independence.

Here are some related links you might be interested in:

The charters of freedom
The Library of congress
School house rock / Preamble
School house rock / Declaration of Independence

My kids just LOVED School House Rock. Who am I kidding? So did I.
I think it's a great tool for use in the classroom, to augment the curriculum.