Today, back in 1787, the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution, and to celebrate, September 17th is celebrated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. Today will “commemorate the formation and signing on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution and recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.” Very patriotic!

This year, the ACLU is launching a campaign called “I am a Constitution Voter” to bring the issues of civil liberties, freedoms, and rights that the Constitution guarantees us to the forefront of the Presidential race.

For the past eight years, Americans have watched the Bush administration take a virtual shredder to the Constitution; they’ve flouted the rule of the land, and we have to show that we won’t stand for it. It’s time give back, time for us to stand up and fight for the Constitution. The fundamental rights of Americans need to be a front-and-center issue in this election. Not flag pins, not lipstick and not pit bulls.

If you sign up on their site as a Constitution voter, they will send you a free bumper sticker! Click the picture below to get there.

Thanks to Peace Arena for the post and info!!!!

It’s no secret that I’m vehemently against anything that goes against my or anyone else’s civil liberties. It is a huge issue for me when it comes to politics. But I think we’ve got to be careful about promoting just the Constitution. There are people who interpret it as a way to promote some of the things that the ACLU is fighting against. Just take an interview with Justice Scalia back in April. For anyone who follows Supreme Court decisions, you know his name as being the most conservative judge on the court. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a decision he’s made that I agree with. But if I were to guess, he’d probably be fine with calling himself a “Constitution Voter”. Take a look at what he believes:

At 72, Justice Scalia is still a maverick, championing a philosophy known as “orginalism,” which means interpreting the Constitution based on what it originally meant to the people who ratified it over 200 years ago.

Scalia has no patience with so-called activist judges, who create rights not in the Constitution - like a right to abortion - by interpreting the Constitution as a “living document” that adapts to changing values.

Luckily we have Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who sees the Constitution differently:

To Ginsburg, the Constitution evolves and should reflect changes in society; that going back to what was meant originally when they wrote, for instance, “We the People,” makes little sense.

“Who were ‘We the People’ in 1787? You would not be among ‘We the People.’ African Americans would not be among the people,” Ginsburg tells Stahl.

Indeed.

Now, I do agree with the ACLU, and think it’s great that they are attempting to get important issues at the front of the election. I just think we need to be careful about throwing around the term “Constitution Voter” without explaining what we’re talking about.

Technorati tags: constitution day, aclu, civil liberties