The US Constitution Turns 226 Years Old This Tuesday

The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn't bend on its own. To secure the gains this country has made requires constant vigilance, not complacency. Whether it's by challenging those who erect new barriers to the vote or ensuring that the scales of justice work equally for all in the criminal justice system and not simply a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails... it requires vigilance. —President Barack Obama, August 28, 2013
On Tuesday, September 17, 2013, the US Constitution will turn 226 years old making it among the oldest continuous forms of government in modern history. 

Through the years the Constitution has afforded sectors of our society extreme political privilege. It has also authorized some of the grossest atrocities in human history, in addition to creating conditions for social and economic inequality which we still combat to this day. 

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The Constitution is a living document created to protect the rights of the people--but which people? This is a fundamental question and challenge for each generation. The ability to preserve advances made in civil rights and gender equality over the last 50 years, and protect our civil liberties requires that we know not only how the Constitution has changed, but also why those changes were necessary.

Today, American's rights to privacy, peaceably assemble, religious expression, a speedy and public trial, and a free press, among others, are being aggressively eroded. "...History is a protective armor against being misled," Howard Zinn taught us. 

Much of this legislative agenda is implemented under the pretext of national security and the 'war on terror.' In the same way institutional racism and discrimination against African-Americans, Native Americans, women and others in the work place, education, housing, and policing practices had its own legal justification.

We have to continue to teach present and future generations to stand up for liberty when our government won't. We at Bill of Rights Defense Committee would like to help you start the school year with a focus on the Constitution by providing encouragement, materials, and lesson plans for Constitution Day. 

How does the Patriot Act, NSA surveillance, and local law enforcement spying affect youth today? How should our Constitution work to protect them from these and other abuses of power by the government and civil bodies intended to protect?  What else should be added to the Constitution or are there ways it could be further amended, and for what purpose?