Bill of Rights Day celebrated
A celebration of the Bill of Rights organized by the conservative Constitution Party didn’t draw any Republicans on Saturday afternoon. But it did bring together some Libertarians, Democrats and Greens.
“You can’t protect your freedom if you don’t know what your rights are,” said Marvin Newcomb of Spokane, who initiated the idea of having a local celebration. “The Bill of Rights is for all people. It’s what makes us American.”
Dec. 15 is officially Bill of Rights Day – the date in 1791 when the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution were ratified.
Newcomb moved the celebration to Saturday in hopes that it would attract more people.
About two dozen arrived at Kalico Kitchen, a small homespun restaurant on North Division Street in Spokane, where the Christmas decorations don’t shy away from Jesus and other Christian themes. On Saturday, black coffee, buttery waffles and other hot meals were served past the 2 p.m. closing time to accommodate the special occasion.
“It’s important to preserve our rights,” said Constitution Party member Robert Peck. “We’re always in danger of having them taken away from us.”
Depending on their political leanings, people at Saturday’s Bill of Rights party mentioned a number of instances in which they thought Americans’ rights have been eroded – from free speech and the right to assemble, to the Central American Free Trade Agreement and the rules that govern the ability to buy a gun.
Many were alarmed by President Bush’s acknowledgement earlier in the day that he had ordered the National Security Agency to conduct an electronic eavesdropping program on Americans without first obtaining warrants.
“It goes to show how much more vigilant we need to be in order to protect our rights,” said George Avellar, a member of the local Green Party.
Tim Hattenberg, vice chairman of the Spokane Democrats, said he wasn’t surprised by the news. The current administration has made it “unpatriotic” to question its policies, he said, and the president has attempted to justify all his actions by using fear and terrorism as an excuse.
“The government is becoming Goliath,” said Newcomb, a Constitution Party member. “If a government is afraid of its own citizens, you get tyranny.”
During a live weekly address from the White House, Bush also accused Democrat and Republican senators of “endangering the lives of our citizens” by blocking the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, which gave the federal government broad new powers to investigate terrorism. Many who attended the Bill of Rights celebration in Spokane believe that their civil liberties have been sacrificed in Bush’s war on terrorism.
“Our party has always been opposed to the Patriot Act,” Peck said. “It’s against the intention of our founders, and it’s an invasion of our privacy.”
In addition to food and raffle prizes, Saturday’s event focused on a video from the Institute on the Constitution, featuring a lecture by John Eidsmore, a Christian author and professor of constitutional law. Not everyone in the audience agreed with his religious views and interpretation of the First Amendment, but they listened politely as they ate their meals.
Julie Smith, another Green Party member, called the event “a start.” Members of these various political parties will never see eye to eye on a number of issues, she said, but they can talk to one another about their differences and come together to protect the general welfare of the country.
And some things, including the Bill of Rights, are simply “nonpartisan issues,” said Hattenberg, a retired history teacher.
Organizers hope to make the Bill of Rights celebration an annual event in Spokane, especially because many Americans take it for granted.
“If you don’t know what your rights are,” Newcomb said, “you don’t know when they’re being abused.”