What does the Bill of Rights mean to me? Isn’t it interesting that when I ask myself that question, the first thing I should do is refer to the worldwide web to be reminded what the Bill of Rights is and how it relates to the Constitution? Isn’t it amusing that it is only after asking those two questions that I realize that I may be taking the Bill of Rights and the Constitution for granted if I can’t remember what those documents are? It isn’t that long after my formal education has ended! By examining each of the Amendments in the Bill of Rights, perhaps I can determine the meaning that those documents have for me as an individual.The First Amendment addresses the right of freedom of speech, which is easily demonstrated in my workaholic world by means of the Internet. The Internet is a place where your freedom of speech lies in the ability to display your opinion, no matter what it is, in front of an audience of however many on-lookers may decide to perform a search into the Internet on any day or about any topic. Where else can someone pontificate to their heart’s content about the evils of abortion or Nazi-ism or whatever the current flavor-of-the-day “ism” is, to rant and rave about!
Although we only think about the Second Amendment when we hear of the tragedies at Columbine High School or a Jewish daycare centers, it is at a more visible profile throughout our government and politics because of gun control debates. There are those who treat the privilege of the right to bear arms and look at being able to buy and sell guns, rifles, shotguns, and antique firearms as though a family heirloom was being passed from generation to generation. Because for those few, the freedom of owning a gun is considered exactly that: a privilege. If we are to believe that all individuals who want to buy and sell weapons are a part of the problem, not the solution then perhaps we should re-examine the problems that are associated with weapons: the individuals who are trying to make a fast buck by selling illegal weapons or selling to the wrong people whether they are under-age or under investigation and manufacturers not putting safety locks on guns to keep kids from using guns is not the problem to be examined either. The problem is putting a better understanding in the minds of the children of this country. We need to teach our children the difference between the real consequences of a shotgun blast and a television show with too much “ shoot-‘em-up, cowboy”. We need to teach the children of this country respect for each other as human beings-somewhere along the way, we’ve lost that basic understanding of human life loss.
The most obscure member of the Bill of Rights is the Third Amendment; it speaks to the government ordering us to house and feed soldiers. It doesn’t seem to apply at all except in a time of war. Originally it was written to countermand an order written by King George III during the Revolutionary War. King George wrote a law during that war that authorized the British troops to demand the colonists to house, feed, and stable the horses. King George’s premise was that if it weren’t for the colonists causing the Revolution, the British troops wouldn’t need to be there, so England shouldn’t have pay for their presence in America. We have been very fortunate that, with the exception of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, the wars that the United States has been involved in have been fought on foreign soil. Someday there may come a time when there will be another war and it may take place on U.S. soil. How will we deal with being required to house our own soldiers? That is an interesting question; it would ultimately depend on the political views of the person being requested to surrender his/her home-it is, at the discretion of the property owner.
At first glance, thoughts of “illegal search and seizure” pop into my mind when reading the Fourth Amendment to the Bill of Rights. Because of the influence of the Internet in my world, there are issues much more important to consider: privacy, profiling, and policing. Information like how I spend my money, what I do for hobbies, how I earn my money can be derived from the Internet traffic that I generate. This is information that is gleaned from one website company and sold to another. However, who has given those website companies the right to that information? No one except ME whenever I register to buy something or authorize a cookie or make a purchase with a credit card. I don’t want to give that freedom up but how much of that information is what I want “shared” with the producers of consumer-products? When do I get to invoke my right under the fourth amendment to stop the information being bought and sold?
The Fifth Amendment pertains to one’s self-incrimination and double jeopardy. To stretch the interpretation of the Amendment just a bit, an employer upon realizing a stapler missing from the supply closet can ask an employee if he knows of the stapler’s location. If the employee responds that he doesn’t want to answer the question on the grounds that it might be self-incriminating, the employer would have to cope with the fact that the stapler is missing and, until proven otherwise, the employee is not the person who took it. When being questioned for a second time about the missing stapler by the employer, the employee could invoke the Fifth Amendment and use double jeopardy as a defense. I think that’s an interesting premise for interpretation!
The Sixth Amendment is the one that speaks to ensuring a speedy trial. By watching the television national news, you see and hear about trials that are rushed and you hear of the trials that drag out for years. There is a wide variant of opinion about crime, victims, and how to deal with both. It is interesting to note that approximately one half of our country believes in speedy trials and speedy sentencing and, in the case of death penalty cases, a speedy carrying out of the sentence. Conversely, there is the other half of the country that is much slower in its trial procedures and carrying out of executions. Which is right? I would like to see the system really work the way that it was intended: a speedy trial, sentencing that was appropriate and, in the case of the death penalty, an execution that was carried out only after completion of the proper appeals process.
The Seventh Amendment ensures that the speedy trial is conducted with a jury of the accused’s peers hearing the facts that are laid before them to decide if someone is guilty of the crime that was committed. Sometimes, those of us who are not on the jury, sit back and question the decision that was made by those that are impaneled. However, the decision that they make is final. Final with one exception: if the jury finds the defendant guilty, the appeals process begins but the prosecution cannot appeal if they are acquitted-that would be double jeopardy!
The Eighth Amendment is set up as the guardian to ensure that whatever sentence is carried out is not neither cruel nor unusual. This amendment requires that even if someone is to be sentenced to death, they must be treated in a humane fashion even though in some cases they were not humane to their victims. It is sometimes difficult to maintain the objectivity that allows us to see that side of the equation. It is, however, important because first and foremost we are human beings-- we are not animals and should not treat each other as though we are animals.
The way that the Ninth Amendment is written, a right that is not specifically granted in the Constitution does not mean that the right is denied. I like that-forethought by our forefathers. That seems intelligent on their part because of the things they couldn’t have known were going to happen like slavery and suffrage. This creates a living document and offers growth for a new country, not a limitation.
The Tenth Amendment is the safety net that assures that not too much government will take over and “rule” the states. One of the biggest fears of the founding fathers was that too much government would be an extension of the government of England and King George. The Tenth Amendment was written in hopes of protecting those rights not specifically delegated by the United States Government as being rights that the individual states’ governments could dole out. As we see many times over today, however, the federal government will quite often overturn the individual states laws and rulings. Unfortunately, this just proves the point that the colonists’ biggest fears have been realized.
Pulling the Bill of Rights together and applying them to my current life isn’t easy. Like many other people in this country, I take the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for granted on a daily basis. I should look to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution daily to remind myself of where and how I live. There are people dying for the freedoms and rights and abilities to express opinions and choose a government the way that I am allowed to do.
Until I wrote this essay, I didn’t think about those freedoms. Writing this essay has made me think about the freedoms that We, The People are afforded. This has been a refresher course of sorts for me-a refresher course in American history so that I am able to remember the reason that my grandfather and his family made the voyage to the United States almost a century ago.
If it weren’t for those first ten amendments and the Constitution, I wouldn’t be able to write this essay today because I wouldn’t have the freedom to express my opinion, share it with my friends over the Internet and, perhaps, have it published on the Internet as well.