Ever since I started studying government and American history, the Fourth of July has become even more meaningful to me. It is a celebration of a unique country, and a unique political project. The United States was really the first country where ethnicity and citizenship were divorced: no matter who you are, or where you came from (in theory), you had a chance to make a life here and enjoy the fruits of American citizenship. Thus, we are a nation of immigrants. What unites us as Americans is not where we come from, or what god we worship, or even what cultural we participate in - rather, what unites us is a commitment to liberty and equality which our founders believed existed prior to law. Our nation is held together not by blood, or by creed but by a simple idea - "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
Our Declaration of Independence and, later, the Constitution provide the philosophical framework that holds our nation together, and that allows it to prosper. I've harped on how some Christians are attempting to refigure American democracy in a stridently-Christian context, and how President Bush has taken to himself unprecedented and inappropriate political powers. Don't take this to mean I despair my country! Sure I despair the political climate, but I believe that the pendulum will swing around. If only more Americans knew about their constitution and the political philosophies that underwrite our nation - then and only then would we have better politicians.
Last week, the Supreme Court curtailed the President's ability to subject detainees to ad hoc military trials. The president claimed that his inherent executive powers allow him to try detainees outside traditional military or civilian courts. Essentially, the Court in a 5-3 decision ruled that the President would have to get permission from Congress to continue the practice of referring the detainees - or "unlawful combatants" to the military tribunals. This is in keeping with a long precedent that argues that the president cannot simply act on implicit or inherent powers even in wartime. Our constitution sets up a system where Congress makes the laws, and the president acts on them. The laws should be explicit, and the scope of presidential authority should be made clear. This precedent seems to apply in the case of stark national emergencies, such as our Civil War, as well as our current situation, where we are fighting a war whose end is unforeseen.
The Supreme Court essentially affirmed a prior ruling, where it argued that Congress' authorizationfor use of military force after September 11, 2001, was not a "blank check" for the President. Thank God for that. For all of the areas where I fault President Bush, it is his callous disregard for congressional intent and of the rule of law in prosecuting enemies of the state that galls me the most. Our nation is held together by an idea - and nothing else - and if we fail to uphold the idea, we will surely lose our integrity and legitimacy in the world. I honestly don't care if a new process of trying detainees is slow and cumbersome. It is a relatively small price to pay in order to be able to proudly say, as a nation, that despite their hatred of us, we treat them with the dignity that is granted to them as human beings.
The Fourth of July, 1916 - Childe Hassam
No comments:
Post a Comment