Constitution Day

Constitution Day is a Federal observance that recognizes the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17th, 1787.

It was formerly called "Citizenship Day" and was first recognized by Iowa schools in 1911. Although it has been recognized for many years, an Amendment to the 2004 Omnibus Spending Bill renamed it "Constitution Day" and also created a requirement for publicly-funded educational institutions to provide programming on the Constitution on that day.

As a Federal employee, we are also required to take annual training on the Constitution. I just finished mine, and I once again appreciated the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, and the pure genius that is embodied in this relatively short document (would that the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"--Obamacare-- was as concise and inspired).

I personally have learned more about the Constitution in the last 8 years than in all of my training and schoolwork the previous 50.  Much of it has been brought about by my growing concern that the principles of the Constitution are being challenged and ignored, not just by average citizens, but by our political leaders as well.

Some organizations tend to emphasize parts of a specific Amendment, such as the distortion of the rights protected by Freedom of Speech in the First Amendment, while openly opposing and demonizing religious freedom protected by the same Amendment.

The Second Amendment has become a battleground once again in the wake of the horrors of Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut, even though gun-related deaths are the lowest they've been in 25 years.

The Federal Government has increasingly ignored or violated the principles of the 9th Amendment that gives all rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution "to the States or the People".

All in all, it would seem that the inspired wisdom of our Founding Fathers has been cut away to the point the soon the Constitution will hang by only a few threads.

So, with this in mind, I've included a link to the training and quiz that I took. It's available to everyone, and the information is quite good. I encourage you to visit the site--make sure you watch the Intro.  Here it is:

Constitution Training

Also, here's an interesting link that allows you to answer a few questions and tell you which of the signers of the Constitution you resemble the most... it's kind of fun:

Constitution Founder's Quiz

Last, but not least, here is a link to the National Constitutional Center.  It has articles and information to help you understand the Constitution better, and to realize that the founders understood human nature very well, regardless of the amount of technology or societal values we have:

NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER

Please commit some time to learning more of the great document that states and protects our God-given rights.

Smitty