Human Rights

Declaration of Independence is a document that declared why the 13 American colonies had to become independent of Britain and had to be free in order to protect the colonists’ rights. If a government does not protect the rights of citizens, people have the right to form a new government. People have certain Inalienable Rights including Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. All Humans are created equal. Individuals have a civic duty to defend these rights for themselves and others. Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. PDF - Declaration of Independence (US History) "We Hold these Truths to be Self-Evident, that all men are Created Equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain Inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Constitution (we the people) - Civil Rights - UN Declarations - Human Values - Public Interest Law

Liberty

Liberty is having freedom of choice and personal freedom from servitude or confinement or oppression. Liberty is having immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority. Liberty is having political independence. Liberty involves free will as contrasted with determinism. In politics, liberty consists of the social and political freedoms to which all community members are entitled. The power to act or speak or think without externally imposed unjustified or unfair restraints. Negative Liberty is freedom from interference by other people and freedom from external restraint on one's actions. Positive Liberty is the possession of the capacity to act upon one's Free will and having the possession of the power and resources to fulfill one's own potential. A concept of positive liberty may also include freedom from internal constraints. Libertarianism is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment. Equality.

Freedom

Freedom is described as being free from oppression and coercion, and having immunity from frivolous exercise of authority, as well as the absence of disabling conditions for an individual and the fulfillment of enabling conditions.

Freedom is being free in having the power to act at will, and to speak or think without externally imposed restraints that are proven to be unfair, biased or harmful. To not be held in servitude and to have immunity from unfair obligations or unfair duties that would hamper progress and reduce creativity and balance.

Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action. Having sovereignty and agency.

Leeway is the amount of freedom to move or act that is available. Allowing some freedom to move within limits. A permissible difference. Leeway is the amount of drift motion to leeward of an object floating in the water caused by the component of the wind vector that is perpendicular to the object’s forward motion.

Emancipation is freeing someone from the control of another person or from legal or political restrictions. Emancipation is any effort to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchised group. Emancipate is to give equal rights to women and minorities. To free people from slavery or servitude.

Freedom does not include the freedom to be a scumbag or the freedom to spread lies and hate. Freedom is a responsibility. Freedom gives you choices, but if you make the wrong choices, then freedom can do more harm than good. Freedom is like having power, both power and freedom can do more harm than good when they are misused. The freedom of choice is only effective when the choice you make is good, right and logical. So you need to learn how to choose correctly and accurately. Choosing wisely is a skill, and skills need to be learned, which makes learning an extremely important responsibility too. One of the best types of freedom is when you free yourself from your own ignorance, and you free yourself from being negatively affected by abusive people. You can't allow ignorant behavior to get under your skin. If you are going to protect freedom, you must first protect yourself. It's a great feeling when you can control how you feel, instead of letting other people control how you feel. Be good, and be good at it. Everyone should have the freedom to do what they need to do, just as long as it does not infringe on the freedoms of other people who also need to do what they need to do. You can't be free to do what you want if it stops other people from being free to do what they want. You can't be free to pollute the water if people have the right to drink clean water. You need Consent. Freedom is a right just as long as you are right. Don't act like a criminal or influence other people to behave badly. You have freedoms, but not the freedom to exploit laws or inflict harm or intrude on other peoples freedoms. You Don't Own Me - Lesley Gore (youtube).

Freedom in the World Index measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territories around the world. List of Freedom Indices are produced by several non-governmental organizations that publish and maintain assessments of the state of freedom in the world, according to their own various definitions of the term, and rank countries as being free, partly free, or using various measures of freedom, including civil liberties, political rights and economic rights.

Rights

Rights are the legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement. Rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to a legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. Rights are of essential importance in such disciplines as law and ethics, especially theories of justice and deontology, which is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action. Rights are often considered fundamental to civilization, being regarded as established pillars of society and culture, and the history of social conflicts can be found in the history of each right and its development. Right should be right, and not every law is right. This is why we have repeals and amendments. Humans don't always get things right the first time. And not every human follows the law. This is our current reality until we change it.

Civil Rights - Bill of Rights - Inalienable Rights - No Unfair Restrictions

Personal Rights are the rights that a person has over their own body. Rights as of personal security, personal liberty, and private property appertaining to the person. Among personal rights are associated rights to protect and safeguard the body, most obviously protected by the torts of assault and battery. Furthermore, aspects of personality are protected, such as a person's reputation and honor, by the tort of defamation, and legislation protecting the privacy of individuals, and freedom of movement. Copyrights.

Natural Rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are universal and inalienable. Natural laws cannot be repealed by human laws, though one can forfeit their enforcement through one's actions, such as by violating someone else's rights.

Legal Rights are those bestowed onto a person by a given legal system, which can be modified, repealed, and restrained by human laws.

Legal Recognition of some status or fact in a jurisdiction is formal acknowledgement of it as being true, valid, legal, or worthy of consideration and may involve approval or the granting of rights.

Human Rights are moral principles or norms, which describe certain standards of human behavior, and are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being," and which are "inherent in all human beings" regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They require empathy and the rule of law and impose an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others. They should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances; for example, human rights may include freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution. Genocide.

Human Rights Measurement is a global initiative to track the human rights performance of countries.

Fundamental Rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a Constitution, or have been found under Due Process of law.

Economic and Social Rights Empowerment Initiative - Watch Dogs

Universal Law - Sovereign Law Trumps All Others.
1. No man or woman, in or out of government shall initiate force, threat of force or fraud against my life and property and, any and all contracts I'm a party to not giving full disclosure to me whether signed by me or not are void at my discretion.
2. I may use force in self-defense against anyone that violates Law.
3. There shall be no exceptions to Law 1 and 2.

Concession is a grant of rights, land or property by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity.

Entitlement is a provision made in accordance with a legal framework of a society. Typically, entitlements are based on concepts of principle which are themselves based in concepts of social equality or enfranchisement. A government program guaranteeing access to some benefit by members of a specific group and based on established rights or by legislation. Not the same as believing that you are entitled to privileges or special treatment

Privilege in Legal Ethics is a certain entitlement to immunity granted by the state or another authority to a restricted group, either by birth or on a conditional basis.

Prerogative is a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class.

The Basics - Food - Water - Shelter - Energy - Education.

International Human Rights Law is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to them; and customary international law. Other international human rights instruments, while not legally binding, contribute to the implementation, understanding and development of international human rights law and have been recognized as a source of political obligation.

International Humanitarian Law is the law that regulates the conduct of war (jus in bello). It is a branch of international law which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating in hostilities, and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants.

A person can only have rights when other people are aware of those rights and do not violate those rights. So human rights are not a given and not a guarantee. People and governments can violate human rights almost at any time. So in order to have rights you must educate people and inform people to the highest standard and degree possible, and not just to educate people about rights, but too protect human rights and enforce human rights so that no one is above the law. Ignorance is the biggest threat to humanity and peoples rights. Passive is no longer an option.

Fairness

Fair is something that has no favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception, and is also in accordance with established standards or rules. Fair is something that is equal, something that has no illogical imbalances.

Fairness is impartial and just treatment without favoritism or discrimination.

Impartial is being free from undue bias or preconceived opinions. Impartiality is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another for improper reasons.

Even Playing Field or Level Playing Field is a concept about fairness where each player has an equal chance to succeed as long as everyone plays by the same set of rules. There should be no external interference that affects the ability of the players to compete fairly. If the rules affect different participants differently, then they are not actually the same.

Equality - Having a Voice - To be Heard - To Contribute. Not Privileged but Worthy of Respect.

Good Faith is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction.

Direct Democracy - Openness - Accountability

Fair and Equal Justice for Everyone (laws)

Equal Opportunity is a state of fairness in which job applicants are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. American Dream.

Freedom of Speech

First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law that would imped the free exercise of religion or favor any religion. No law can be made that would restrict the freedom of speech, infringe on the freedom of the press, interfere with the Right of the People to Peaceably Assemble, or prohibit the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights.

People have the Right to Speak up against cruel and oppressive Governments and Corporations, and injustices and unfairness. Let us not distort this right by adding scenarios that have nothing to do with this right. Freedom of Speech is the right to communicate one's opinions and ideas without fear of government retaliation or Censorship.

Freedom of Speech does not say that your words or your voice will be heard, or does it mean that the people who are allowed to speak are not lying. When statements are made, and the public is not given a chance to express a counter argument or even have an open discussion about the statement, then all you are left with is a narrow point of view, and that is complete bullshit and absolutely dangerous. You can't have a rule or a law that can be circumvented and manipulated, because that leads to chaos, and that is exactly what happens every seconded of every day somewhere on this planet. And just because there is no chaos where you live, that does not mean that chaos does not exist.

Freedom of Speech: You are free to speak your mind, but you must be aware of the timing and the place. Lies, hate or propaganda are extremely dangerous, for they are weapons that distort information and distort the truth. Communication is our greatest strength, but communication is also our greatest weakness when it is abused and misused. Freedom is a Right as long as your freedom is not used to deny others their freedom.

Journalism - Fair Use - Surveillance Abuses - SLAPP Suites

Freedom of Thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints.

Freedom of Expression is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The term "freedom of expression" is sometimes used synonymously but includes any act of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.

Participation in social science refers to different mechanisms for the public to express opinions – and ideally exert influence – regarding political, economic, management or other social decisions. Participatory decision-making can take place along any realm of human social activity, including economic (i.e. participatory economics), political (i.e. participatory democracy or parpolity), management (i.e. participatory management), cultural (i.e. polyculturalism) or familial (i.e. feminism). For well-informed participation to occur, it is argued that some version of transparency, e.g. radical transparency, is necessary but not sufficient. It has also been argued that those most affected by a decision should have the most say while those that are least affected should have the least say in a topic.

Teach First Amendment - First Amendment Center - First Amendment Project

First Amendment Handbook - First Amendment Schools

Intellectual Freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and express ideas and information as the basis for a self-governing, well-informed citizenry. Intellectual freedom comprises the bedrock for freedoms of expression, speech, and the press and relates to freedoms of information and privacy. The United Nations upholds intellectual freedom as a basic human right through Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which asserts: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The institution of libraries in particular values intellectual freedom as part of their mission to provide and protect access to information and ideas. The American Library Association (ALA) defines intellectual freedom as "the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement can be explored." The modern concept of intellectual freedom developed out of an opposition to book censorship. It is promoted by several professions and movements. These entities include, among others, librarianship, education, and the Free Software Movement.

Declarative is a mood that represents the act or state as an objective fact. A declaration.

Declaration is a statement that is emphatic and explicit spoken or written. A formal public statement. Declaration in law unsworn statement that can be admitted in evidence in a legal transaction. Proposal - Proposition.

Proclamation is a a formal public statement. The formal act of proclaiming or giving public notice.

Announcement is a public statement containing information about an event that has happened or is going to happen.

Freedom of Speech Abuses

A Right to Speak or the Freedom of Speech is not a right to tell lies or to spread hatred. A right is a power for good. A right is not for scumbags to abuse and misuse, yet here we are. The media must be held responsible for giving a voice to criminals and to people who constantly lie. The media are accessories to criminal activity and need to be held accountable.

False Advertising - Propaganda - Perjury - Child Abuse - Slander - Threats - Hatred - Toxic Leadership

Clear and Present Danger is when speech could be criminalized if it incites violence or criminal activity.

Bad Tendency permits restriction of freedom of speech by government if it is believed that a form of speech has a sole tendency to incite or cause illegal activity. Discrimination.

Imminent Lawless Action defines the limits of freedom of speech if speech merely advocated violence.

Shouting Fire in a Crowded Theater is a popular metaphor for speech or actions made for the principal purpose of creating panic. Falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic highlights that speech that is dangerous and false is not protected, as opposed to speech that is dangerous but also true. False Flag Attack - False Alarms.

How do you stop Propaganda or Hate Speech without violating free speech? Censorship is dangerous and necessary.

Communications Decency Act of 1996 was the first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. It attempted to regulate both indecency and obscenity in cyberspace, especially when available to children. Second, section 230 of the act has been interpreted to say that operators of Internet services are not to be construed as publishers (and thus not legally liable for the words of third parties who use their services). Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information provided by third-party users: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.

Public Forum Free Speech Laws - Social Networks - Front Men - Accessories to Crimes

Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act became law on April 11, 2018 to make it illegal to knowingly assist, facilitate, or support sex trafficking, and amend the Section 230 safe harbors of the Communications Decency Act (which make online services immune from civil liability for the actions of their users) to exclude enforcement of federal or state sex trafficking laws from its immunity.

Federal Communications Commission to regulate interstate communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access, fair competition, radio frequency use, media responsibility, public safety, and homeland security. Watchdogs (oversight).

As long as people don't mind what you speak, you should speak your mind. But if you speak your mind, you should know your mind and you should know how to speak, and also know what you're talking about.

Civil Rights

Civil and Political Rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the society and state without discrimination or repression. Civil rights include the ensuring of peoples' physical and mental integrity, life and safety; protection from Discrimination on grounds such as race, gender, gender identity, gender expression, gender dysphoria, national origin, colour, age, political affiliation, sexual orientation (also called sexual preference), ethnicity, religion, or disability; and individual rights such as privacy, the freedoms of thought and conscience, speech and expression, religion, the press, assembly and movement. Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in law, such as the rights of the accused, including the right to a fair trial; due process; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy; and rights of participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of association, the right to assemble, the right to petition, the right of self-defense, and the right to vote. Civil and political rights form the original and main part of international human rights. They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with economic, social and cultural rights comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this group of rights to be "first-generation rights", and the theory of negative and positive rights considers them to be generally negative rights. Hate Crime.

Civil Liberties or personal freedoms are personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law or by judicial interpretation without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may include the freedom from torture, freedom from forced disappearance, freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the right to security and liberty, freedom of speech, the right to privacy, the right to equal treatment under the law and due process, the right to a fair trial, and the right to life. Other civil liberties include the right to own property, the right to defend oneself, and the right to bodily integrity. Within the distinctions between civil liberties and other types of liberty, distinctions exist between positive liberty/positive rights and negative liberty/negative rights. Compassion.

Civil Rights Movements are a worldwide series of political movements for equality before the law, that has been going on for hundreds of years.

Civil Rights Act of 1957 enacted September 9, 1957, primarily a voting rights bill, was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The purpose of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was to show the federal government's support for racial equality following the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown decision. Opposition to the legislation, including the longest one-person filibuster in history, resulted in limited immediate impact, but the Act paved the way for a series of more effective civil rights bills in the 1960s.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 enacted July 2, 1964 is a landmark civil rights and US labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibited unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations.

Civil Rights - Civil Rights Division - Civil Law

Council on American-Islamic Relations is a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide. Through civil rights actions, media relations, civic engagement, and education, CAIR promotes social, legal and political activism among Muslims in America. The government of the United Arab Emirates has designated CAIR as a terrorist organization. Critics of CAIR have accused it of pursuing an Islamist agenda and have claimed the group is connected to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which CAIR has rejected and described as an Islamophobic smear campaign.

Civil Rights Movement - Civil Liberties Union

Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. King led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and later became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As president of the SCLC, he then led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama. He helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. On October 14, 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. In 1965, he helped organize the Selma to Montgomery marches. In his final years, he expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty, capitalism, and the Vietnam War. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover considered him a radical and made him an object of the FBI's COINTELPRO from 1963 on. FBI agents investigated him for possible communist ties, recorded his extramarital liaisons and reported on them to government officials, and, in 1964, mailed King a threatening anonymous letter, which he interpreted as an attempt to make him commit suicide. King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People's Campaign, when he was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis, Tennessee. His death was followed by riots in many U.S. cities. Allegations that James Earl Ray, the man convicted of killing King, had been framed or acted in concert with government agents persisted for decades after the shooting. King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a holiday in cities and states throughout the United States beginning in 1971; the holiday was enacted at the federal level by legislation signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. Hundreds of streets in the U.S. have been renamed in his honor, and a county in Washington was rededicated for him. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in 2011. Since the late 2010s activists have made efforts on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to reclaim the legacy of King. (Martin was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968).

Citizens Commission - Commission on Civil Rights

United States Commission on Civil Rights is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created in 1957, that is charged with the responsibility for investigating, reporting on, and making recommendations concerning civil rights issues in the United States. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1975d, all statutory authority for the commission terminated on September 30, 1996, and Congress has not passed new legislation, but has continued to pass appropriations.

Individual and Group Rights or collective rights, are rights held by a group qua group rather than by its members severally; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people; even if they are group-differentiated, which most rights are, they remain individual rights if the right-holders are the individuals themselves. Group rights have historically been used both to infringe upon and to facilitate individual rights, and the concept remains controversial.

"Liberty will not descend to a people, a people must raise themselves to liberty; it is a blessing that must be earned before it can be enjoyed." Charles  Caleb Colton (wiki).

What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July is the title now given to a speech by Frederick Douglass delivered on July 5, 1852.
"Oppression makes a wise man mad. Your fathers were wise men, and if they did not go mad, they became restive under this treatment. They felt themselves the victims of grievous wrongs, wholly incurable in their colonial capacity. With brave men there is always a remedy for oppression. Just here, the idea of a total separation of the colonies from the crown was born! It was a startling idea, much more so, than we, at this distance of time, regard it. The timid and the prudent (as has been intimated) of that day, were, of course, shocked and alarmed by it. What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?...What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim." Frederick Douglass’ Descendants Read His Famous ‘Fourth of July’ Speech | NPR (youtube).

Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes. (1935)
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home—
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay—
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine—the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!

Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. He moved to New York City as a young man, where he made his career. One of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the negro was in vogue", which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue." Growing up in a series of Midwestern towns, Hughes became a prolific writer at an early age. He graduated from high school in Cleveland, Ohio and soon began studies at Columbia University in New York City. Although he dropped out, he gained notice from New York publishers, first in The Crisis magazine, and then from book publishers and became known in the creative community in Harlem. He eventually graduated from Lincoln University. In addition to poetry, Hughes wrote plays, and short stories. He also published several non-fiction works. From 1942 to 1962, as the civil rights movement was gaining traction, he wrote an in-depth weekly column in a leading black newspaper, The Chicago Defender.

Let America be America Again poem written in 1935 by American poet Langston Hughes. It was originally published in the July 1936 issue of Esquire Magazine. The poem was republished in the 1937 issue of Kansas Magazine and was revised and included in a small collection of Langston Hughes poems entitled A New Song, published by the International Workers Order in 1938. The poem speaks of the American dream that never existed for the lower-class American and the freedom and equality that every immigrant hoped for but never received. In his poem, Hughes represents not only African Americans, but other economically disadvantaged and minority groups as well. Besides criticizing the unfair life in America, the poem conveys a sense of hope that the American Dream is soon to come. Hughes wrote the poem while riding a train from New York to his mother's home in Ohio. He was in despair over recent reviews of his first Broadway play and his mother's diagnosis of breast cancer. Despite being a pillar of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, he was still struggling for acceptance as a poet, battling persistent racism, and just eking out a living. Selling a poem or a story every few months, he called himself a "literary sharecropper." Fate, he said, "never intended for me to have a full pocket of anything but manuscripts." Hughes finished the poem in a night but did not regard it as one of his best. It did not appear in his early anthologies and was only revived in the 1990s, first in a public reading by Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, later as a title for museum shows. The title of this poem was used by Democratic United States senator John Kerry as a campaign slogan in his 2004 presidential campaign.

Elizabeth Peratrovich was an American civil rights activist and member of the Tlingit nation who worked for equality on behalf of Alaska Natives. In the 1940s, her advocacy was credited as being instrumental in the passing of Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, the first state or territorial anti-discrimination law enacted in the United States in the 20th century. In 1988, the Alaska Legislature established February 16 as Elizabeth Peratrovich Day "for her courageous, unceasing efforts to eliminate discrimination and bring about equal rights in Alaska" (Alaska Statutes 44.12.065). In March 2019, her obituary was added to The New York Times as part of their "Overlooked No More" series. (Tlingit name: Kaaxgal.aat; July 4, 1911 – December 1, 1958).

Inalienable - Unalienable

Inalienable Rights are rights that cannot be bought, sold, or transferred from one individual to another. Rights are not subject to forfeiture and can be lost or surrendered as a penalty. The Personal Rights to Life and Liberty are guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, they are inalienable. Similarly, various types of property are inalienable, such as rivers, streams, and highways.

Natural Rights and Legal Rights are two types of rights. Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are universal and inalienable (they cannot be repealed by human laws, though one can forfeit their enforcement through one's actions, such as by violating someone else's rights). Legal rights are those bestowed onto a person by a given legal system (they can be modified, repealed, and restrained by human laws).

Unalienable is something incapable of being repudiated or something that you cannot refuse to acknowledge or refuse to recognize as valid, so no one has the right to violate another persons rights.

Laws - Charter - Social Justice - Natural Person - Privacy

I serve you, but I am not your slave. I am an individual and a human, and like all humans, we are born with rights and freedoms. No human can be owned or treated like an object. We respect each other, we work together, we live together, we learn together, and we progress together. Indentured Servant.

Due Process

Due Process is the legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual person from it. When a government harms a person without following the exact course of the law, this constitutes a due process violation, which offends the rule of law.

Due Process Clause. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution each contain a due process clause. Due process deals with the administration of justice and thus the due process clause acts as a safeguard from arbitrary denial of life, liberty, or property by the Government outside the sanction of law. The Supreme Court of the United States interprets the clauses more broadly because these clauses provide four protections: procedural due process (in civil and criminal proceedings), substantive due process, a prohibition against vague laws, and as the vehicle for the incorporation of the Bill of Rights. Due process ensures the rights and equality of all citizens.

Substantive Due Process is a principle allowing courts to protect certain fundamental rights from government interference, even if procedural protections are present or the rights are not specifically mentioned elsewhere in the US Constitution. Courts have identified the basis for such protection from the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, which prohibit the federal and state governments, respectively, from depriving any person of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Substantive due process demarcates the line between the acts that courts hold are subject to government regulation or legislation and the acts that courts place beyond the reach of governmental interference. Whether the Fifth and/or Fourteenth Amendments were intended to serve that function continues to be a matter of scholarly as well as judicial discussion and dissent.

Equal Protection Clause provides "nor shall any State [...] deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws". It mandates that individuals in similar situations be treated equally by the law. Equal Justice Under Law.

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868. Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of 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. Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

5th Amendment (allows a witness to decline to answer questions, or remain silent).

Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions. The Supreme Court has applied the protections of this amendment to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

First Amendment (freedom of speech)

Rights (civil)

Natural Justice is technical terminology for the rule against bias (nemo iudex in causa sua) and the right to a fair hearing (audi alteram partem). While the term natural justice is often retained as a general concept, it has largely been replaced and extended by the general "duty to act fairly". The basis for the rule against bias is the need to maintain public confidence in the legal system. Bias can take the form of actual bias, imputed bias or apparent bias. Actual bias is very difficult to prove in practice while imputed bias, once shown, will result in a decision being void without the need for any investigation into the likelihood or suspicion of bias. Cases from different jurisdictions currently apply two tests for apparent bias: the "reasonable suspicion of bias" test and the "real likelihood of bias" test. One view that has been taken is that the differences between these two tests are largely semantic and that they operate similarly. The right to a fair hearing requires that individuals should not be penalized by decisions affecting their rights or legitimate expectations unless they have been given prior notice of the case, a fair opportunity to answer it, and the opportunity to present their own case. The mere fact that a decision affects rights or interests is sufficient to subject the decision to the procedures required by natural justice. In Europe, the right to a fair hearing is guaranteed by Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is said to complement the common law rather than replace it.

Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the oftentimes bitter 1787–88 battle over ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and crafted to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. The concepts codified in these amendments are built upon those found in several earlier documents, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the English Bill of Rights 1689, along with earlier documents such as Magna Carta (1215).

Bill of Rights - Bill of Rights Institute - Civil Rights - Inalienable Rights

Right to Life is a moral principle based on the belief that a human being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another human being. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues of capital punishment, war, abortion, euthanasia, justifiable homicide, animal welfare and public health care.

Rights - The Right to Remain Silent - NAACP

Magna Carta is Latin for "the Great Charter of the Liberties", commonly called Magna Carta ("the Great Charter"), is a charter agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons.

Treaties

Natural Rights are two types of rights. Legal Rights are those bestowed onto a person by a given legal system (i.e., rights that can be modified, repealed, and restrained by human laws). Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws, customs, or beliefs of any particular culture or government, and therefore universal and inalienable (i.e., rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws).

Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex; it seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. The amendment was introduced in Congress for the first time in October 1921 and has prompted conversations about the meaning of legal equality for women and men ever since. equalrightsamendment.org

Second Bill of Rights is a list of rights that was proposed by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 11, 1944. Roosevelt's argument was that the "political rights" guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness". His remedy was to declare an "economic bill of rights" to guarantee these specific rights: Employment (right to work), food, clothing and leisure with enough income to support them. Farmers' Rights to a fair income. Freedom from unfair competition and Monopolies. Housing. Medical Care. Social Security. Education. Roosevelt stated that having such rights would guarantee American security and that the United States' place in the world depended upon how far the rights had been carried into practice. Big 5.

It's Time for the Law to Protect Victims of Gender Violence: Laura L. Dunn (video and text)

Women's Rights - Women's News - Sex Crimes

International Human Rights Law is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to them; and customary international law. Other international human rights instruments, while not legally binding, contribute to the implementation, understanding and development of international human rights law and have been recognized as a source of political obligation.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris.

National Human Rights Institution is an independent institution bestowed with the responsibility to broadly protect, monitor and promote human rights in a given country. The growth of such bodies has been encouraged by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which has provided advisory and support services, and facilitated access for NHRIs to the UN treaty bodies and other committees.[1] There are over 100 such institutions, about two-thirds assessed by peer review as compliant with the United Nations standards set out in the Paris Principles. Compliance with the Principles is the basis for accreditation at the UN, which, uniquely for NHRIs, is not conducted directly by a UN body but by a sub-committee of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC). The secretariat to the review process (for initial accreditation, and reaccreditation every five years) is provided by the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section of the OHCHR.

Human Rights Commission is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.

European Convention on Human Rights is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953.

Declaration of Human Rights - Human Rights Search Engine

Declaration of Principles on Equality reflects a moral and professional consensus among human rights and Equality experts done in December 2008. It contains 27 principles that establish a new paradigm on equality, drawing on established and emerging principles of international law. It has been described by the High Court of Delhi as reflecting the ‘current international understanding of Principles on Equality.

Alison Crocetta: Bear in Mind - Social Barriers - Learn Liberty

List of Peace Activists - Activists - List of Civil Rights Leaders (wiki) - Journalism from Citizens

Choice is a Vote for something, or a vote against something.

Witness is an international organization that trains and supports people using video in their fight for human rights.

Amnesty

Amnesty is a period during which offenders are exempt from punishment. Amnesty in law is a warrant granting release from punishment for an offense or the formal act of liberating someone. To grant a pardon to a group of people. Asylum.

Amnesty International - Amnesty USA
Human Rights Watch - RFK Center
European Court of Human Rights 
Citizens Commission on Human Rights

Right of Asylum is when a person is persecuted by their own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, such as another country or church official.

Refugees - Citizenship - Immigration

Open Society Foundations

The mission of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities is to eliminate discrimination through civil and human rights law enforcement and to establish equal opportunity and justice for all persons within the state through advocacy and education.

"Your freedom ends where mine begins, and to know exactly where that line is for me and for you, is the beginning of understanding each other."

We want control and order without infringing on peoples needs, or put restrictions on people that causes more harm then good.
We need better education and less legislation.

Negative and Positive Rights are rights that oblige either action (positive rights) or inaction (negative rights). These obligations may be of either a legal or moral character. The notion of positive and negative rights may also be applied to liberty rights. To take an example involving two parties in a court of law: Adrian has a negative right to x against Clay if and only if Clay is prohibited from acting upon Adrian in some way regarding x. In contrast, Adrian has a positive right to x against Clay if and only if Clay is obliged to act upon Adrian in some way regarding x. A case in point, if Adrian has a negative right to life against Clay, then Clay is required to refrain from killing Adrian; while if Adrian has a positive right to life against Clay, then Clay is required to act as necessary to preserve the life of Adrian. Rights considered negative rights may include civil and political rights such as freedom of speech, life, private property, freedom from violent crime, freedom of religion, habeas corpus, a fair trial, and freedom from slavery. Rights considered positive rights, as initially proposed in 1979 by the Czech jurist Karel Vasak, may include other civil and political rights such as police protection of person and property and the right to counsel, as well as economic, social and cultural rights such as food, housing, public education, employment, national security, military, health care, social security, internet access, and a minimum standard of living. In the "three generations" account of human rights, negative rights are often associated with the first generation of rights, while positive rights are associated with the second and third generations. Some philosophers (see criticisms) disagree that the negative-positive rights distinction is useful or valid.

Claim Rights and Liberty Rights. A claim right is a right which entails responsibilities, duties, or obligations on other parties regarding the right-holder. In contrast, a liberty right is a right which does not entail obligations on other parties, but rather only freedom or permission for the right-holder. The distinction between these two senses of "rights" originates in American jurist Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld's analysis thereof in his seminal work Fundamental Legal Conceptions, As Applied in Judicial Reasoning and Other Legal Essays. Liberty rights and claim rights are the inverse of one another: a person has a liberty right permitting him to do something only if there is no other person who has a claim right forbidding him from doing so; and likewise, if a person has a claim right against someone else, that other person's liberty is thus limited. This is because the deontic concepts of obligation and permission are De Morgan dual; a person is permitted to do all and only the things he is not obliged to refrain from, and obliged to do all and only the things he is not permitted to refrain from.

American Rights at Work

Affirmative Action a policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who suffer or have suffered from discrimination within a culture. Some countries, such as India, use a quota system, whereby a certain percentage of government jobs, political positions, and school vacancies must be reserved for members of a certain group. In some other regions where quotas are not used, minority group members are given preference or special consideration in selection processes.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency that administers and enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, gender identity, genetic information, and retaliation for reporting, participating in, and/or opposing a discriminatory practice.

13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

Speech Now - State Voices - JFK Library

Freedom of Information Act - Data Protection

Transparency (accountability) - Democracy - Global Policy

Public Agenda - International Committee of the Red Cross

Rights of Man is a book by Thomas Paine written 1791 that included 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the French Revolution against Edmund Burke's attack in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). It was published in two parts in March 1791 and February 1792.

Constitution - Principles - Precedents

We the People—affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. It is not for corrupt individuals to serve themselves at the expense of others. Most people can't see corruption or fully comprehend how damaging corruption is. When you give money to a business to pay for needed services, you expect to receive those services. If you do not receive the services that you paid for under contract, this is what is called fraud, theft, waste and negligence, which are criminal violations punishable by law in every state in America. But just prosecuting people who violate these laws does not fix the problem of corruption, because corrupt individuals are easily replace with other corrupt individuals. So you can't fire everyone, but you can educate everyone. September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the Constitution, which is a model for the governance of a state with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with the powers associated with the other branches, creating distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another. This was supposed to stop corruption from forming, but it did not succeed as planed. Corruption is a systemic problem that can not be solved with just a few documents or using just a few laws. We have very little accountability or transparency because we have very little education and not enough information. We are essentially blind because too many people are not knowledgeable enough to understand themselves or understand the world which we all live in. And we can easily fix this problem if we all agree to educate ourselves and inform ourselves about the reality that we live in. We have proven that we can work together. But we need to define our responsibilities and honor these agreements. The Constitution describes the rights and responsibilities of state governments, and the states in relationship to the federal government. Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended 27 times, including one amendment that repealed a previous one, in order to meet the needs of a nation that has profoundly changed since the eighteenth century. In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government. The majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights protections. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures.

Individuals Working Together, like the millions of cells and microbes do in our bodies. Oversight.

State Constitution is when each state has its own constitution. Allegiance - Leadership.

Constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a written constitution; if they are written down in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution. Some constitutions (such as the constitution of the United Kingdom) are uncodified, but written in numerous fundamental Acts of a legislature, court cases or treaties. Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign states to companies and unincorporated associations. A treaty which establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states, a constitution defines the principles upon which the state is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights. The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 444 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 118 amendments, with 146,385 words in its English-language version, while the Constitution of Monaco is the shortest written constitution, containing 10 chapters with 97 articles, and a total of 3,814 words. U.S. Constitution is 7,591 words, including 27 amendments.

United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it. Constitution Image (photo) - PDF.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a More Perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Our is of or belonging to us.

Us is the objective case of we, the persons speaking.

We is plural of "I".

All is everyone and everybody, all people.

Plural is composed of more than one member, a set, or a kind. Plural in writing is a grammatical number category referring to two or more items or units. The form of a word that is used to denote more than one.

Of connects a noun with the preceding word. Expresses possession or connection. Indicates parts, content, or quality. Indicates a point of reference. A reason or cause.

Constitutional Law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in federal countries such as the United States and Canada, the relationship between the central government and state, provincial, or territorial governments. Lawyers.

Constitute is to form or compose. Create and charge with a task or function. Represent and set up or lay the groundwork for.

Constitution is the act of forming or establishing something, like laws that determine the fundamental political principles of a government or the way in which someone or something is composed.

Reconstituting is to construct or form a new or provide with a new structure. Transform.

Compose is to put together something out of existing information or material. Make up plans or basic details for something.

Establish is the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment. Use as a basis for or found on. To bring about and build or establish something abstract.

Institute is to advance or set forth in court. Set up or lay the groundwork for.

List of Amendments to the United States Constitution (wiki) - Repeals

Living Constitution is the claim that the Constitution has a dynamic meaning or it has the properties of an animate being in the sense that it changes. The idea is associated with views that contemporaneous society should be taken into account when interpreting key constitutional phrases. interpreting the Constitution in accordance with its original meaning or intent is sometimes unacceptable as a policy matter, and thus that an evolving interpretation is necessary, and constitutional framers specifically wrote the Constitution in broad and flexible terms to create a dynamic living document. the Constitution should be changed through the amendment process. Allowing judges to determine an ever-changing meaning of the constitution can easily undermine democracy.

Originalism is a concept regarding the interpretation of the Constitution that asserts that all statements in the constitution must be interpreted based on the original understanding of the authors or the people at the time it was ratified. This concept views the Constitution as stable from the time of enactment, and that the meaning of its contents can be changed only by the steps set out in Article Five. This notion stands in contrast to the concept of the Living Constitution, which asserts that the Constitution should be interpreted based on the context of the current times, even if such interpretation is different from the original interpretations of the document.

Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The federal government possesses only those powers delegated to it by the United States Constitution. All remaining powers are reserved for the states or the people.

Government by Judiciary argues that the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution contrary to the original intent of the framers of this Amendment and that the U.S. Supreme Court has thus taken control by force the authority of the American people to govern themselves and decide their own destiny.

Constitution in Exile refers to the situation resulting from provisions of the United States Constitution allegedly not having been enforced according to their "original intent" or "original meaning". Some originalists might argue, for example, that the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause do not authorize economic legislation dating all the way back to the New Deal.

US Constitution - U.S. Constitution - Constitution of America

Pocket Constitution - Pocket Justice

Constitution of May 3, 1791 (wiki)

Rights Foundation - Center for Constitutional Rights - Our Documents

Constitutional Documents of the entity are the documents which define the existence of the entity and regulate the structure and control of the entity and its members. The precise form of the constitutional documents depends upon the type of entity.

Articles of Association is a document which, along with the memorandum of association (in cases where the memorandum exists) form the company's constitution, defines the responsibilities of the directors, the kind of business to be undertaken, and the means by which the shareholders exert control over the board of directors. It refers to that document of the company in which rules of internal management to achieve the objective laid down in the memorandum of association are stated.

Historic Documents that Influenced the American System of Government.
Magna Carta, 1215.
The House of Burgesses, 1619.
The Mayflower Compact, 1620.
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, 1636.
English Bill of Rights, 1689.
The Declaration of Independence, 1776.
The Articles of Confederation, 1781.

Some of the 10 Most Important Documents in American History
Common Sense (1776)
The Federalist Papers (1784-1788)
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
Seneca Falls "Declaration of Sentiments" (1848)
Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
Gettysburg Address (1863)
Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1868)
Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points (1918)

Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 articles and essays written (under the pseudonym Publius) by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven were published serially in the Independent Journal and the New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788. A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787, was published in two volumes in 1788 by J. and A. McLean. The collection's original title was The Federalist; the title The Federalist Papers did not emerge until the 20th century. Though the authors of The Federalist Papers foremost wished to influence the vote in favor of ratifying the Constitution, in "Federalist No. 1", they explicitly set that debate in broader political terms: It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and force.

What, am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters? Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, is wrong? ... At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation’s ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. ~Frederick Douglass.

America is a great example of why it is so extremely important to give people freedom and the opportunities to explore, discover and learn. We have advanced our civilization in many fantastic ways, except for one critical area, education. Though we have improved education in some ways, education did not improve enough to match our level of knowledge that we have acquired in the last 100 years. We have failed miserably, and 99 percent of people on the planet don't understand how our inadequate education is. That is because they do not have the necessary knowledge and information that is needed to understand these inadequacies. Our inadequate education, along with our inadequate and irresponsible media and news outlets, have been solely responsible for the deaths of millions of people, as well as the suffering of 100's of millions of people, and the devastating consequences of poison air, poison water, poison food, poison products and poison land. It is absolutely necessary to improve education, if not, our own ignorance will be the death of us all.

American Revolutionary War was fought primarily between the Kingdom of Great Britain and her Thirteen Colonies in America, resulting in the overthrow of British rule in the colonies and the establishment of the United States of America. also known as the American War of Independence,(1775–1783). Patriot protests against taxation without representation followed the Stamp Act and escalated into boycotts, which culminated in 1773 with the Sons of Liberty destroying a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor. Britain responded by closing the harbor and passing a series of punitive measures against Massachusetts Bay Colony. Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, and they established a shadow government which wrested control of the countryside from the Crown. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress[k] to coordinate their resistance, establishing committees and conventions that effectively seized power.

Evacuation Day on November 25 marks the day in 1783 when the British Army departed from New York City on Manhattan Island, after the end of the American Revolutionary War. In their wake, General George Washington triumphantly led the Continental Army from his headquarters north of the city across the Harlem River, and south through Manhattan to the Battery at its southern tip.

Songs of Praise - Songs of Devotion

Anthem is a song of devotion or loyalty, or a song of praise. Anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short sacred choral work (still frequently seen in Sacred Harp and other types of shape note singing) and still more particularly to a specific form of Anglican church music.


America the Beautiful
Words by Katharine Lee Bates, Melody by Samuel Ward (wiki)

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!
O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!
O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee.



God Bless America
American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song.

God Bless America, Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam.
God bless America, My home sweet home.

Additional verse
"While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer."


My country, 'tis of thee
My Country, 'Tis of Thee (wiki)

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From ev'ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
Our fathers' God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.

Additional verse to celebrate Washington's Centennial:
Our joyful hearts today,
Their grateful tribute pay,
Happy and free,
After our toils and fears,
After our blood and tears,
Strong with our hundred years,
O God, to Thee.

Additional verses by Henry van Dyke:
We love thine inland seas,
Thy groves and giant trees,
Thy rolling plains;
Thy rivers' mighty sweep,
Thy mystic canyons deep,
Thy mountains wild and steep,--
All thy domains.
Thy silver Eastern strands,
Thy Golden Gate that stands
Fronting the West;
Thy flowery Southland fair,
Thy North's sweet, crystal air:
O Land beyond compare,
We love thee best!

Additional Abolitionist verses by A. G. Duncan, 1843:
My country, 'tis of thee,
Stronghold of slavery, of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Where men man’s rights deride,
From every mountainside thy deeds shall ring!
My native country, thee,
Where all men are born free, if white’s their skin;
I love thy hills and dales,
Thy mounts and pleasant vales;
But hate thy negro sales, as foulest sin.
Let wailing swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees the black man’s wrong;
Let every tongue awake;
Let bond and free partake;
Let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.
Our father’s God! to thee,
Author of Liberty, to thee we sing;
Soon may our land be bright,
With holy freedom’s right,
Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King.
It comes, the joyful day,
When tyranny’s proud sway, stern as the grave,
Shall to the ground be hurl’d,
And freedom’s flag, unfurl’d,
Shall wave throughout the world, O’er every slave.
Trump of glad jubilee!
Echo o’er land and sea freedom for all.
Let the glad tidings fly,
And every tribe reply,
“Glory to God on high,” at Slavery’s fall.


This Land Is Your Land
Written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie in 1940

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
And I went walking that ribbon of highway
And saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me the golden valley
This land was made for you and me
I roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around meT, a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said: Private Property
But on the back side it didn't say nothing
This land was made for you and me
When the sun come shining, then I was strolling
In wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me



Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner

O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


Everything I Do, I Do It For You
Everything I Do, I Do It For You by Bryan Adams, is a great song when you imagine that the song is about America. The video would show images of America and showing Americans doing good things.

Look into my eyes – you will see
What you mean to me.
Search your heart, search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more.
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.
You know it's true:
Everything I do, I do it for you.
Look into your heart – you will find
There's nothin' there to hide.
Take me as I am, take my life.
I would give it all, I would sacrifice.
Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more
You know it's true:
Everything I do, I do it for you, oh, yeah.
There's no love like your love
And no other could give more love.
There's nowhere unless you're there
All the time, all the way, yeah.
Look into your heart, baby...
Oh, you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more.
Yeah, I would fight for you, I'd lie for you,
Walk the wire for you, yeah, I'd die for you.
You know it's true:
Everything I do, oh, I do it for you.
Everything I do, darling.
You will see it's true.
You will see it's true.
Yeah!
Search your heart and your soul
You can't tell it's not worth dying for
I'll be there
I'd walk the fire for you
I'd die for you
Oh, yeah.
I'm going all the time, all the way.