As part of our Constitution Day celebrations, we’re asked to take a moment to think about what this great country means to us personally.  For some of us, it might be hard to sort through all of the noise and craziness that seems to flood our news outlets and media.  But that shouldn’t stop us from taking a moment to discuss why America is great.

America was the first constitutional democracy in the modern world.  We were founded on principles (taken from the Declaration of Independence) of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  The Constitution was founded in 1787 after our initial government didn’t work.  It was founded on principles of the rule of law (everyone is equal before the law no matter how rich or poor you are), the separation of powers, a representative government (where we elect people to make our laws for us), the separation of powers, federalism (each level – national, state, or local – has a say in how we live our lives), and individual rights as outlined in the Bill of Rights.

Our country’s ideals are things like justice, the common good, equality, diversity is our strength, truth, and patriotism.  I feel that sometimes we don’t live up to these values, but as it says in the preamble to the Constitution, “in order to form a more perfect union…”, we as Americans need to continually remind ourselves of our core values and beliefs and hold each other accountable when we fail to live up to those high ideals.  No one is perfect, but we’re trying to get there.

Your job: Tell me what America means to you.  Be specific.

300 words minimum.  Due Tuesday, Sept. 18 by class.