Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.

I'm the world's original gradualist. I just think ninety-odd years is gradual enough.

Sometimes history takes things into its own hands.

[T]he Constitution was a product of its times. [Progressive]

Some may more quietly commemorate the suffering, struggle, and sacrifice that has triumphed over much of what was wrong with the original document, and observe the anniversary with hopes not realized and promises not fulfilled. I plan to celebrate the bicentennial of the Constitution as a living document, including the Bill of Rights and the other amendments protecting individual freedoms and human rights.

In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.

To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, we hold as fundamental today.