Speech broadcast to Lincoln Middle School by Greg Bowes 09/18/2006
Hello, my name is Greg Bowes. I am a City-County Councillor, and I am here to celebrate Constitution Day with you. Our Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by our ancestors, who had just fought the Revolutionary War, and won independence from Britain.
Those men met together, and after much debate, made a decision about how our country should be governed. The agreement they made was that the people should govern themselves. This was an extraordinary new idea, because, until then, kings and dictators had ruled the people using force and tyranny.
This idea of the people governing themselves was not an easy one. It is still not easy today. It involves education and compromise. It requires a willingness to understand each other’s needs, and skill in working together. Most of all, it requires the ability to adapt and change.
This new government was set up to take into account that not all people are willing to work together for the good of the whole community. It set up three equal branches of government, and each branch would make sure the power given to the government by the people would not be abused. This system of three branches provided a guaranty that the government would only use that power that was given by the people.
In order to make sure that our government would be able to change and adapt, the Constitution limited the time any person could serve in the government. Representatives in Congress serve only two years. The President serves only four years. Senators serve only six years. At the end of each term, the people are given a chance to make their needs and feelings known by voting in an election. The vote makes sure our government is meeting the people’s needs as those needs change.
When the Constitution was written, especially after the adoption of the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments, our government was set up to protect every one of us from the possibility that a large enough group of people would get together, and agree that a smaller group of us do not deserve the benefits of our government. The Constitution granted each one of us the right to speak freely, the right to think and worship as we choose, the right to print our thoughts on paper, and the right to gather together to peacefully discuss our concerns. If any of us were accused of a crime, we are guaranteed the right to a public and speedy trial, with the decision of guilt or innocence decided by a jury of our peers. We are not required to speak against ourselves, we are allowed to confront our accusers and bring in witnesses to testify on our behalf. We are guaranteed a lawyer to help us present our case. If we are convicted of a crime, we must be treated humanely in prison.
The list of rights goes on. We cannot be forced to house soldiers in our homes unless in time of war. Our homes and belongings cannot be searched unreasonably, and search warrants must be approved by a judge before the search can be made. We are all guaranteed due process, which means we should be given a chance to argue against any action taken by the government. If the government must take our property to use for the good of the whole community, the government must pay a fair price.
As I said, all of us are entitled to these protections, even if a large group of people decides we should not be protected. This is true, because, at the beginning, when the Constitution was adopted, all of us, as a group, decided we would never want to be one of the few who cannot fight against the wishes of a large group of people. We all decided these rights listed in the Constitution were too important to take away.
Our Constitution was never perfect. The Constitution that was adopted in 1787 allowed some of our people to hold other people as slaves. It was not until 1870 that men who were not white were guaranteed the right to vote. It was not until 1920 that women were guaranteed the right to vote.
Many argue today that it is still not perfect. Some argue that the courts have too much power or that the President has too much power.
I believe that our Constitution has one important piece that makes it very near a perfect system of government. That one piece is the idea that the Constitution may be changed. If enough of us agree, we can change the powers we, the people, give to our government. Not only is it good that we can change it, but it is good in the way we are allowed to change it.
As I stated before, our Constitution protects each one of us from the abuses of power that might come from a large group of people. When we change our Constitution, we are required to make sure not just a simple majority of people agree, but that most of us agree, and that we have taken enough time to review and analyze the change. A change must be approved by 2/3 of the Congress, then ratified by 3/4 of the states. With that much review and consideration, only the best and most important changes will be adopted.
Our government may not yet be perfect, but we have adopted a perfect way to get there. If all of us educate ourselves, and participate in our government, we can reach the goal of a government that serves us all fairly. If all of us vote, we will make sure our representatives and government officials fulfill our needs and wishes.
On this Constitution Day, please join me in celebrating our not yet perfect system of government. Discuss among yourselves what it means to you to be an American. Let people know your frustrations about what is not yet right, but resolve with each other that you will work to make it better by participating in your government. Participate by voting, or if you are still too young to vote, by making sure your adult friends and family vote. If we all participate, if we all work together, we will one day reach that goal of a perfect government.
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