Reviewing the US Constitution

Now that our Independence Day has passed for the year, maybe we can reflect on a few things.

First, July 4 is not really our Independence Day. Independence was declared on July 2. We celebrate July 4 because that is when the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

The Declaration is an interesting document. It states that government is derived by men, not men and women. 

Remember, we a talking about 1776. The men who govern get their power from the consent of those they govern. Men are given the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The Declaration further states that whenever any form of governments becomes destructive by taking away the rights stated above, it becomes the right of the people to alter or destroy the government.

I think the Black Panthers used this part of the Declaration to make their point.

The Declaration is not law; the Constitution is our framework for our laws.

One must realize that the Declaration was written by a young country that had not matured. Fortunately, the Constitution showed more maturity of the young nation.

One of the best examples of maturity was the Constitution allowed for changes or amendments to our government and its laws.

We also learned a hard lesson that man should not enslave other men. It took longer, but we also realized women were a vital part of our growing nation.

Look how far our nation has matured since 1776.  Many more people have been given the rights stated in the Declaration.

Our nation is not perfect, and probably never will be. However, I thank God each day for allowing me to be born in this country.

We should all be very thankful, and we should obey our laws until they are changed.

Remember, it is rule by the majority with protections for the minority.

Where does one find a better form of government on this planet?

— Gordon Correll

 Science no longer an argument for binary alone

In the June 11 My Turn column condemning Pride Month, the writer obsesses over “sexual techniques” and “sexual practices” with respect to those who identify as LGBTQI+.

It seems hard to believe that in an age when information is so readily available to anyone with a smart phone or an internet connection (virtually all of us), that the writer could be unaware that the string of letters she reviles do not identify “techniques” or “practices,” but gender identities and sexual orientations of human beings.

Much as people like the writer might choose to believe otherwise, gender identity and sexual orientation exist on a spectrum.

Name one human characteristic that is binary. Are there only two eye colors, two hair colors, two skin tones, two heights, two builds, two voices, two levels of intelligence, two personalities? Of course not!

Why then would anyone, regardless of their beliefs regarding the origins of human life, conclude that any human characteristic is purely binary?

The writer claims that “science affirms there are only two genders.” Really…where?

Even if science at one time held that to be true, science is constantly re-evaluating its past pronouncements based on the most current information and investigational methods.

At one time scientists believed the sun revolved around the earth, which they believed was flat, and that the smallest unit of matter was the molecule. Copernicus and Galileo proved the first premise false, Columbus didn’t fall off the edge of the earth, and we now know that there are atoms and sub-atomic particles.

So, citing science to bolster religiously-inspired anti-LGBTQI+ views is to misrepresent what science is and what it says.

— Thomas J. Strini

Spencer