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| photo from https://www.emersonkent.com/speeches/the_man_in_the_arena.htm |
Upon accepting appointive
office as a member of a County Tax Board, I am required to take an oath to
support and defend the Constitution. When I serve as a poll worker, I take such
an oath upon that day as well.
Taking my oath seriously,
I figure that I ought to be familiar with that Constitution I have sworn to defend.
I periodically read
through the Constitution the way some read through the Bible or revisit novels
they have previously enjoyed.
In doing so recently, I
happened upon this gem of a Constitutional right. It rests within the third
clause of Article VI…”The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and
the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial
Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound
by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test
shall ever be Required as a Qualification To any Office or public Trust under
the United States”.
That last part…” but no
religious Test shall ever be Required as a Qualification To any Office or
public Trust under the United States”.
This right, embedded in
the Constitution which was ratified June 21, 1788 (years before the
ratification of the Bill of Rights; December 15, 1791), is the preeminent Constitutional
right, relative to the Bill of Rights.
This right is explicit in
language and without any conditions such as “provided that”, or “except in the
case of”.
This right is unequivocal
in its meaning and application; no religious Test shall ever
be Required.
A good citizen will abide
by this preeminent, explicit, and unequivocal Constitutional right.
Good citizenship was
described by Theodore Roosevelt in his speech “Citizenship in a Republic” which
he delivered in Paris, France on April 23, 1910. I provide a quote from that
speech…
“The good citizen will
demand liberty for himself, and as a matter of pride he will see to it that
others receive liberty which he thus claims as his own. Probably the best test
of true love of liberty in any country is the way in which minorities are
treated in that country. Not only should there be complete liberty in matters
of religion and opinion, but complete liberty for each man to lead his life as
he desires, provided only that in so he does not wrong his neighbor.”
Theodore Roosevelt was a
man of high intellect. He mastered the languages of French and German. He
was also familiar with Latin and Italian. This former President, famous for his “gung
ho” bravery and attitude, also modeled the importance of multilingualism.
Theodore Roosevelt was a
man of positive regard for minorities of different faiths and different opinions.
His only qualification was that “he does not wrong his neighbor”
I conclude that neither
the text of the Constitution, nor the heart of Theodore Roosevelt views minorities,
those of different faiths, opinions, or languages as a problem.
Domestic enemies are not
those people who look different, speak differently, or worship differently.
Domestic enemies are
those who would deny others the fullness of their Constitutional rights.
Domestic enemies are those who would wrong their neighbors.
The good citizen will
see to it that others receive liberty which he thus claims as his own.
The full Roosevelt speech
“Citizenship in a Republic” can be read at the following link:
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-sorbonne-paris-france-citizenship-republic
The quote I use is from
paragraph thirty-one, if I have counted correctly.
