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Guest Commentary: September 5, 2001
"We The People" Is You And Me
The Honorable Jo Ann Emerson
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"We the People." While the words were written nearly 214 years ago, the meaning then is the same as the meaning today. As we prepare to celebrate Constitution Week (September 17-23), those three words serve as a reminder that the Constitution, with its promise of liberty, justice, and equality belongs to all of us -- then and now.
We the People have the privilege of living under the blanket of security and peace known as the United States. But with the gift of freedom comes an inherent obligation that lies within each of us to preserve the spirit of this great document while promoting the ideals of that democracy and freedom. You see, we are not just the beneficiaries of the Constitution enjoying the fruits of our forefathers labor. Instead, we are citizens who have a responsibility to pass the gifts of the Constitution from one generation to the next.
We the People, despite the best of intentions, haven't always taken that responsibility as seriously as the framers of the Constitution. In fact, a study released just a few years ago by the National Constitution Center (NCC) noted that 75% of American teenagers know which city has the zip code 90210 (Beverly Hills -- like the famed show Beverly Hills 90210) but only 25% of our teenagers know that the U.S. Constitution was written in Philadelphia. Also alarming, is that only 1.8% know that James Madison is the father (the author) of the Constitution. Finally, most disconcerting of all is that only about one-third of today's teenagers know that the first three words of the US Constitution are, in fact "We the People."
We the People, said Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, Chairman of the NCC, "shouldn't view these polls as an indictment of our teens, (but as a reminder) that the Constitution doesn't work by itself. It depends on active, informed citizens. And that's who these kids are: our future citizens." That's right. It is the job of each of us -- not just our educators -- to lead by example and share with our youth the importance of understanding the Constitution. As my late husband Bill Emerson would say, "know who you are and where you came from so that you can know where you are going."
We the People have a new opportunity to learn more about how we can teach the next generation about the Constitution. Through a private, state, and federal partnership, the National Constitution Center broke ground on September 17, 2000 in Philadelphia. The NCC is an interactive museum of constitutional history and is scheduled to be completed by September 17, 2002 with the official opening in Spring 2003. The NCC will be located in the heart of Independence Mall and will join two other symbols of freedom. The first symbol is Independence Hall where the framers wrote the US Constitution. The other is the Liberty Bell which rang out from the tower of Independence Hall in 1776 marking the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon. I encourage all of you to visit the NCC online at http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ where you can view weekly updated pictures of this new and exciting project.
We the People will come and go from this life. However, democracy, freedom and justice live on in us, our actions and in the words of the U.S. Constitution. As we celebrate Constitution Week, may we always remember that it is the duty of you and me to leave that spirit -- the spirit of America -- to the next generation.
Note: Rep. Emerson writes a weekly column; the above is adapated from the August 31, 2001 issue.
 How to contact Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
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