Today marks the 222d anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.  And thanks in large part to Senator Robert C. Byrd, celebrations and reflections will occur across the country.  In West Virginia alone, there will be events at the West Virginia State Capitol; at the United States Courthouse in Charleston and the Boone County Courthouse in Madison; and at Shepherd University, where you can hear a lecture titled “Restoring the Constitution in the Wake of the ‘War on Terror,’” and West Virginia University, where you can learn about recent U.S. Supreme Court cases interpreting the Constitution.

At the State Capitol, we will read the most amazing part of the U.S. Constitution – a part not in the original, but quickly added by a wise citizenry – The Bill of Rights.  Democracy is premised on the notion of majority rule; the Bill of Rights seeks to ensure that the majority’s rule is not tyrannical – that the minority have certain rights that cannot be trampled upon by a rabble-rousing majority: the right to go to the church or synagogue or mosque of your choosing, the right to scream from the rooftops that the majority’s rule is corrupt, the right to a home generally free of government intrusion, protection against lynch mob justice and cruel and unusual punishment.

In the Bible, Christ says: “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.”  That’s what the Bill of Rights is all about – how we treat the least of these – our brothers and sisters with whom we may not always agree.

Take a few minutes and read the Bill of Rights.