September 11
Constitution
Translated for Kids
A
Lesson in Democracy
by Cathy Travis
Kids are naturally curious about the rules that
govern adults, be they forces of nature or government.
For matters of government, Independence Day, 2002,
is an extraordinarily good time for citizens to
remember who we are and to explain to young people,
and the rest of the world, what makes this nation
the world’s leading democracy.
Explaining the government to kids is so hard that
adults frequently bypass real information and
substitute ambiguous or negative comments about
politicians. But “We the people” are
the government, and the single supreme document
that established our government and articulates
our rights and responsibilities is a profoundly
simple document: the United States Constitution.
When I wrote Constitution Translated for Kids,
almost 10 years ago, I was motivated by my niece
and nephew, Sami and Rob, and later our young
cousins, Tyler and Shelby. I believed that when
kids know what is in the Constitution, our nation
will be a fundamentally stronger, better place.
Today it is all the more important to remember
the ideas that bind us together as a nation
On September 11 at 9:42 a.m., as we were evacuated
from the United States Capitol after the Pentagon
attack, there was a powerful illustration of how
this democracy works. As buildings were being
evacuated, Capitol Hill telephones were automatically
transferred to the congressional district offices
of Members of the House of Representatives and
the Senate in over a thousand locations around
the country.
That speaks volumes about the nature of our democracy.
“We the People” reside in every corner
of this nation, and that is where government derives
its power. Our power is not in a building or even
in the place our representatives meet. It is with
our citizens, and it is our common ideas and our
freedoms that make us great.
On
Independence Day 2002, remember what makes us
a great and enduring nation.
It’s not a single religion that makes us great;
it’s our freedom to worship any way we please
(or not) that makes us a faithful, great nation.
It’s not our wealth that makes us great; it’s
our freedom that allows anybody here to pursue
wealth (or not).
It’s not our great and beautiful places that
make us great; it’s the freedom to gather anyplace
we choose, to support any cause we deem worthy.
It’s not necessarily what we say that makes
us great; it’s the freedom to say whatever we
choose, and the avowed liberty—and responsibility—to
say it to Congress always.
It’s certainly not what our TV and print reporters
say; it’s the fact they can say anything in
print or electronically freely.
It’s not our flag that binds us together; it
is the ideas and the shared history it represents
that makes us cling to it.
It is our enduring ideas of democratic government
whose fundamental responsibility is to protect
the nation and the rights of our citizens that
makes this nation the standard bearer for democracy
in the 21st Century.
The hard part of understanding the Constitution
is the legalistic, complicated language of diplomats
and lawyers over 2 centuries ago.
But it need not be so hard. In a world where religious
and political extremists judge our national values
by the movies we export and the commercial success
we enjoy, 7.4.76 is the date to relate to 9.11.01,
and the world in which we now live.
It was on July 4th, 1776 that the British colonies
of the Americas broke away from royal rule, declared
themselves independent, and called the new country
the United States of America. They encouraged
citizens of the new nation to pursue life, liberty
and happiness.
After a war with England, and then a contentious
battle of ideas in free debates, our founders
gave us the outline for how the government would
operate, and how the rights of citizens and states
would forever be enshrined in the Constitution.
The ideas in the Constitution are still entirely
who we are in this nation. It overshadows the
identity of gender, ethnicity, geography, religion,
wealth, national origin, and individual takes
on our fundamental ideas.
The Constitution is now front and center as we
remind the world who we are and what we hold dear
in this country. It reminds us where we came from
… and why.
Travis is a writer, working for a Member of
Congress on Capitol Hill. Read more about Constitution
Translated for Kids. Travis can be reached
at [email protected]
Created: June 27, 2002
Updated: July 8, 2002
Source
Link: Connect
For Kids
Connect
for Kids, an award-winning multimedia project
of the Benton Foundation, helps adults make their
communities better places for families and children.
The Web site offers a place on the Internet for
adults—parents, grandparents, educators,
policymakers and others—who want to become
more active citizens, from volunteering to voting
with kids in mind.