Bill of Rights

Rights and Responsibility; these are very unique concepts. Still, they are both interwoven into the very fabric of our society. A right is a basic right of each and every citizen, given to people without question and assumed to be true among all people equally. Owning private property is a right, being able to dress how we want, drive what we want and utilize that which is available to us in a manner that we deem to be the best for us as individuals are all rights that we enjoy for the most part.



That is one of the key differences between our Constitutional Republic and a very poor form of government that is known as a democracy. It is also one of the reason I cringe in horror each time someone calls the USA a democracy. Our Founding Fathers warned us in no uncertain terms that to try and convert this Republic into a democracy would result in her death. As we were warned, it will be a very quick (in terms of historical passing of time) but agonizing and painful death for our nation. Sadly, that is seeming to come to pass. Still, that is not the point ... or at least not the entire point of this article.

Watching events unfold in Iran should remind us of all that we take for granted.

·         The right to vote & participate in our government:  We may not always do either but we can.  When I was in college I had a poster by my desk in the student government.  It showed a demonstration that turned violent and had the caption that read, ‘People would give their lives for something you can cross the street to do.’  We can also protest our government without the fear that they will shoot us (anymore).  The same cannot be said about Iran.  Yes, they can vote but the speed with which they announced the winner might make one wonder how accurate the count could have been.  Moreover, eight people were killed by the police on Monday night and more injured in protests.  http://www.fec.gov/votregis/vr.shtml  The argument can be made that the US government may not always listen to demonstrators but we still can do it.

·         A free press:  I suspect most people here don’t trust the press.  While everyone seems to want to hate the media, they are an essential part of our republic.  Thomas Jefferson said “Democracy depends on an informed populace.”  It was so vital that it was put in the First Amendment (http://www.constitution.org/)  When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad