History of our free society

The fundamental law which guarantees all of our rights is the United States Constitution. Without it, our freedom would transform from bedrock to mercury. We would, like so much of the world, be enslaved by the most brutal amongst us. The gamble risked by every free society is that average citizens will behave like responsible adults rather than selfish children.

Our freedom comes from a distinct heritage, including Hammurabi’s Code, the Ten Commandments, the constitutions of Solon and Cleisthenes, the Twelve Tables, Jesus’ Golden Rule, Justinian’s Code, the Magna Carta, Luther and Calvin’s ideas in the Protestant Reformation, Ignatius of Loyola’s Catholic counter-arguments, John Locke’s English Bill of Rights, and the philosophies of Rousseau, Montesquieu and Jefferson. It derives from the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Christians and Goths, as refined through Christendom and repeatedly revised since the Renaissance.

This heritage is crucial to progressives and conservatives, reminding us that what unites us is more important than what divides us. All high school graduates should pass a year of ancient and medieval history, followed by a year of modern European history. Until we do this, we will continue to fail at education’s primary purpose: to acculturate coming generations.

Ralph K. Ginorio

Coeur d’Alene