Kevin Wagner: Celebrate our Constitution

JMC faculty partner Kevin Wagner is a Professor of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University. He organized a Constitution Day event this year on “Fake News and the First Amendment,” with the support of the Jack Miller Center. Click here to view JMC’s new Constitution Day website.

 

Celebrate and Recognize the Importance of our Constitution

Professor Kevin Wagner
Published in the Palm Beach Post.

Today is Constitution Day, and it commemorates the date in 1787 that the delegates to the Constitutional Convention finished their work and signed the U.S. Constitution — a document that defines the structure and character of our nation to this day.

No matter what your interests are or the paths you have taken, it is the Constitution that sets forth the guarantees of freedom that allow you to make your own choices. It is the Constitution that contains the assurance that each American has the freedoms to speak, assemble and worship as they choose. It is the Constitution that protects the right to bear arms, and the freedom of the press to criticize the government and hold it accountable.

Indeed, our Constitution uses a commitment to fundamental rights as a basis to unite a diverse group of people from around the world into a single nation. Americans are not one ethnicity, but rather a people joined by a choice to embrace democratic values and principles. We are a society brought together by our choice to govern ourselves and guarantee all people the blessings of liberty.

Yet, in our busy lives, it is easy to neglect the importance of the Constitution. It’s never a trending topic in social media. A new upgrade doesn’t come out each year, and there is no online fan club or yearly convention to prompt interest. The Constitution is the written foundation of our society, yet it is easily forgotten in life’s daily bustle. It is a document that for many is only vaguely remembered, and often never read.

Read the complete editorial at the Palm Beach Post.

Learn more about Kevin Wagner at his FAU faculty website.