Filling Time: TwinLife Empty-Nesting

September 17 is Constitution Day. Even as a history major, I didn’t know what this meant until I looked it up this year. Here is what the website of the US Government says:

On September 17, 1787, the Founding Fathers signed the U.S. Constitution. For over 200 years, the Constitution has served as the supreme law of the land. The Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights and other amendments, define our government and guarantee our rights. Each year, on September 17, Americans celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. In addition, September 17-23 is also recognized as Constitution Week. During this time, USCIS encourages Americans to reflect on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and what it means to be a U.S. citizen.

We also recognize people who are taking steps to become U.S. citizens. To help them prepare, USCIS offers study resources for the civics and English portions of the naturalization interview and test. The Constitution and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship are important in the United States and prospective citizens may see these items in several places on the naturalization test. There are many questions on the civics test on these two topics, such as, “What is the supreme law of the land?” and “What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?”

I like the Constitution. I particularly like that Jefferson, the writer of the document (1) didn’t fully agree with it (he thought it needed a bill of rights and advocated that one be passed – which it was), and (2) thought it was a dynamic document that could be shaped or completely revised by future generations.

So when I think of the original intent of the document, I always turn to Jefferson (whose ideas helped draft it even if he didn’t get full authorship status) – even though I don’t agree with everything Jefferson did or thought at the time (e.g., I think the national bank was probably a good thing and he didn’t, and I also think a man who knew that slavery was wrong should have sucked it up and taken the financial hit by freeing his slaves.)

But overall, I like what he and his cronies (I use that term purposefully) tried to design. As a design thinker, I know that design is iterative, and Jefferson also believed this. In fact, I think he would be shocked that we are still arguing about his intentions in the year 2025. His view was that every generation probably needed to create its own constitution to reflect the state of the times, but the fact the founders crafted something that seems to have withstood many generations is impressive. And their intent to design a system where humans have inalienable rights is pretty cool – in an 18th century kind of way. Since they only accepted that certain humans had those rights at the time, we can only give partial credit on their creation, but all in all, it was a good start, one we have been working to revise over time.

Since I like the intent of the Constitution, I was intrigued when a friend sent me a link to an event to celebrate it, as well as to protest the actions of the current administration that are taking away the rights articulated in it. I wrote about women’s rights a few years ago, and my fears played out less than two years later. I barely have time to write about all of my fears in today’s world. The excerpt from the government website above specifically references immigrant rights, and these rights are being taken daily, even from people who are following all the rules. It is both heartbreaking and terrifying. As the well-known poem “First They Came” prophesies, if we do not stand up for someone else, eventually we will fall.

For me, this week, I’ve seen teachers and professors impacted by expressing their views, as protected under the First Amendment. We are in a moment where speaking may lead to retaliation but where silence ultimately will beget being silenced – permanently. We cannot be silent.

I have participated in other acts of resistance over the last decade, but I also have recognized that my generation has not really grappled with the terrors of war or civil unrest that our parents and grandparents did. Perhaps this has made us complacent, and we are a bit behind in responding effectively to the moment we are in.

Because we are in a moment. And this is why I filled time this week by joining my friends on a sidewalk, holding hands in the rain on Constitution Day. To make a statement that what we have here in the US is pretty cool – if imperfect – and that we need to stand together to keep it – and make it better. Making it better is, of course, the best way to fill my time.