Oops. We forgot to celebrate Bill of Rights Day yesterday. Not there was much to celebrate, considering the frequency with which our constitutional safeguards are ignored:
It's a disturbing snapshot, to be sure, but not one the Framers of the Constitution would have found altogether surprising. They would sometimes refer to written constitutions as mere “parchment barriers,” or what we call “paper tigers.” They nevertheless concluded that having a written constitution was better than having nothing at all.
The key point is this: A free society does not just “happen.” It has to be deliberately created and deliberately maintained. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
I think the low point for me in the past few years was the Kelo decision. Property rights are an essential part of liberty's foundation, and the Supreme Court pretty much nullified them.
