Editorial: Constitution worth a grateful new look
Illustration by Janet Hamlin Credit: Janet Hamlin
The U.S. Constitution is in vogue this election year.
A lively debate over the role of the federal government in our lives has nudged the elegant document into the limelight as voters weigh who should be president for the next four years. So Constitution Day on Sept. 17 -- the 225th anniversary of the day the document was signed in 1787 -- should have more resonance this year than usual.
But most Americans have only a vague notion of what is in the document. This week is a good time to begin changing that. Learning more about what's actually in the oldest and shortest written constitution of any major government in the world is a civic duty that should be embraced. But calling it a duty makes it sound too much like work. It should be a joy.
The Constitution is a profound and farsighted document that laid the framework for what has become the world's model democracy. Written over 100 days between May 25 and Sept. 17 of 1787, its 4,400 words (7,591 with amendments) have stood the test of time.
What most people know about the Constitution they learned in school, so it's appropriate that educational institutions are required to observe the occasion if they receive any federal funds. Others should too. Constitution Day falls on Rosh Hashanah this year, so it can officially be commemorated anytime this week.
Get a copy. Read it. Take the quiz at ConstitutionFacts.com. It will deepen your appreciation of what it is that makes the United States such a special place.
