So Republicans are always talking about passing Constitutional Amendments. They want to pass a Constitutional Amendment banning abortion. They want to pass a Constitutional Amendment banning same sex marriage. Most recently, they are advocating for a Balanced Budget Amendment even though our nation has always had a had a national debt. Well I think it's time that Democrats propose their own Amendment. Let's call it the Second Bill of Rights!
More below the fold . . .
In his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed such a Second Bill of Rights stating as follows:
It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.
This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.
As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.
We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.”[2] People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens.
For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.
These words resonate now more than ever. Moreover, such a proposal would be exceedingly popular among the American public. Contrary to the popular conservative myth, Americans are actually quite progressive on issues such as these. Furthermore, imagine conservatives trying to argue against any of these proposals. Most Americans would be appalled at their opposition to any of these principles.
Finally, Congress would be forced to act on these issues because if they failed to do so the Courts could intervene and compel the government to comply with the terms set forth by this Amendment. Rather than worrying about Health Care reform being struck down because it violates the Commerce clause, the Supreme Court would instead likely be considering whether the Affordable Care Act goes far enough toward achieving the requirement set forth by this Amendment that every American have "adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health."
In short there is absolutely no reason why this Amendment shouldn't be proposed immediately!