this day in history--1868
After being ratified by the required three-quarters of the States, the 14th Amendment was officially ratified and adopted into the U.S. Constitution on July 28, 1868--138 years ago today.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and the State wherein they reside.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
How have we as a society strayed so far from the simple, yet powerful words of this amendment? Today we have affirmative action programs which discriminate on the basis of race. We have Title IX, which discriminates against male high school and college athletes. We have laws that criminalize "hate speech" and "hate crimes". This means that certain words and deeds can be criminally punished, but only if the victim and the offender are of the "correct" race, color, creed, or national origin. We have an entire political party, the Democrats, that exists solely to perpetuate the "victimization" of public policy and to gain favored status for its various victims...I mean "constituents".
It is time for "we the people" to demand that our elected officials follow the mandates of our Constitution, and of the 14th Amendment. It is way past time for we the people to demand that our society become the great culture that Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of when he said,
"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.'
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!"
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and the State wherein they reside.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
How have we as a society strayed so far from the simple, yet powerful words of this amendment? Today we have affirmative action programs which discriminate on the basis of race. We have Title IX, which discriminates against male high school and college athletes. We have laws that criminalize "hate speech" and "hate crimes". This means that certain words and deeds can be criminally punished, but only if the victim and the offender are of the "correct" race, color, creed, or national origin. We have an entire political party, the Democrats, that exists solely to perpetuate the "victimization" of public policy and to gain favored status for its various victims...I mean "constituents".
It is time for "we the people" to demand that our elected officials follow the mandates of our Constitution, and of the 14th Amendment. It is way past time for we the people to demand that our society become the great culture that Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of when he said,
"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.'
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!"
posted by hondo at 11:28 PM
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