Times Union: Founders set ideals that challenge us

[Patricia M. McBride]

Very nice commentary with a great set of questions. Can you answer them all????  Link over the commentary and give it a shot!

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July 4, 2012

 America is built on several great ideals that have challenged each generation.

In his new book, "Rights at Risk: The Limits of Liberty in Modern America," David Shipler makes it clear that Americans are in a continuous challenge to live up to the ideals set by the Founding Fathers.

"The American experience has been a long struggle to live up to the Constitution," Shipler writes.

He documents the attempts made over history, often in response to foreign threats, to dial back freedoms.

This dates to just a few years after 1776 when the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 allowed citizens to be jailed for speaking and writing against the government.

Even Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War.

World War I brought the Sedition Act of 1918 that allowed prosecution of people demonstrating for workers' rights and opposing entry into the war.

World War II produced the interment of 120,000 ethnic Japanese, 80,000 of them citizens.

When polled, too many Americans are more than willing to give up our precious rights, often for good motives.

 

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2012-07-04/story/founder...