Our constitution was signed over 200 hundred years ago, but that does not mean it is not relevant to our country today. I would like to, in the next several minutes, tell you about the United States’ constitution as a living, powerful document. As American citizens we have the opportunity and the responsibility to use the Constitution to better our nation. The creation of the Constitution was, and still is, a monumental moment in history that has changed the lives of generations before me and will continue to change the lives of generations after me.
However, I would like to talk about my generation. As the youth in this country we are at a prime time in our lives to not only know about the constitution, but to truly understand the fact that it is living and relevant today. In An American Family the author states that “No man is complete until his education is complete.” As the upcoming youth we must understand the Constitution and all it entails before thinking we can successfully run this country. The Constitution has created a government that puts the power back into the hands of the people. The very first phrase of the preamble states “We the people” because our country is built on the foundation of the power belonging in the hands of all the citizens. This freedom allows us, the people, to change the Constitution as our society changes.
Change is inevitable. Two hundred years ago there was no need for laws regarding the technology we have today because it didn’t exist back then. We are going to continue to make advances as time goes on and the beauty of our constitution is that it is built on concepts that will never cease to be relevant, but it does have the opportunity for additions. For example, during the time the Constitution was written people in America still had slaves. However, on December sixth of 1865 the 13th amendment was added to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.
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As the culture’s values changed, our Constitutional rights changed. This specific amendment is one of the most important amendments because the country as a whole recognized that every human life has value. The freedoms given to us by the Constitution should be appreciated because from an outside point of view they are seen as luxuries. In countries like North Korea people have very limited rights, so few that most people don’t even know what they’re missing out on. Nearly everything they do is monitored because the government wants control over all the people. But America is different. Our founding fathers have developed a system of checks and balances where no one person or a group of people have an excessive amount of power.
People in America have the right to speak out against their government. We are given the right to peacefully protest. On August 28th, 1963 more than 200,000 people marched through Washington, D.C. to demand equality for all people. On this day Martin Luther King Jr. presented his “I Have a Dream” speech. In this speech he emphasized his dream of everyone being treated equal and seen as brothers. This was a monumental moment in history where thousands of people came together to speak out against the government and racial inequalities. From this impactful movement the people did receive the change they fought for. The people received the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination in public places, allowed everyone to have equal voting rights, and encouraged desegregation in schools. This changed the lives of thousands of people.
We have the opportunity and the responsibility to speak out against any wrong doings of our government. There are countless families of men, women, and children coming to America to experience the freedoms we often take for granted. Voting is one of them. In the 2014 midterm elections only 36% of Americans voted, but yet 75% of Americans say voting is important. This was the lowest voter turnout since 1942. As a nation it is our civic duty to uphold what so many brave men and women fought for, generations ago. Our Constitution was created to limit the amount of federal power and put it back into the hands of the people. This means it starts with us. We must be the ones to come together and keep this document alive. The Constitution provides us with many rights.
The first amendment states that “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 the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This first amendment supplies us with a lot of rights. The freedom of speech is one aspect of this amendment which doesn’t just entail verbal words. After Gutenberg’s printing press was invented the interpretation of “freedom of speech” and “freedom of the press” had changed. Information became much easier to spread because you could share opinions beyond what people around you could hear.
As time went on new technology was invented so we could directly call, text, email, etc. Freedom of speech became even more important since sharing ideas became easier to share with a bigger audience. With these new advances, however, new questions arose. One being the questions about amendment four, which regards search and seizure, and its relevance to technology. Questions came up about if police had the right to search a device. Well, if circumstances suggest that there is evidence to a crime on the device and they have a warrant saying they can investigate, then yes they do have the right to search and seize. This also applies to other belongings, but they need some kind of permission from the person they are searching or from a warrant. Our society changes and with that our laws change. This is an example of the Constitution being a living document with the ability to adapt along with society and its advances.
The fourth amendment gives us the right to our privacy and the right to keep our belongings in our control, but new laws are created to ensure everyone’s safety from those who are mistreating their rights. I would like to conclude by saying that the Constitution is one of the most amazing documents ever written. Its relevance in our society over 200 years later will never cease to amaze me. It was one of the biggest steps in history because our founding fathers came together to grant everyone freedoms that most people, to this day, don’t have. The idea of having a country where the power rested in the hands of the people rather than the government was something out of the ordinary, and yet it remains one of the greatest ideas in history. It is up to us to keep this Constitution alive because, after all, we all benefit from what it entails.
