Law day challenge from the legal office

  • Published
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Judge Advocate's Office
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Every year on May 1, Americans recognize Law Day. When he established Law Day on May 1, 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower sought to highlight and honor, for all Americans, our enduring legal culture.
Further, Law Day was founded, during the cold war, to contrast Democracy with the tyrannical and murderous ideology of Communism. Even though the cold war has ended, Law Day is still relevant. Communism still exists and other similar murderous ideologies have gained prominence, such as radical perversions of the Islamic faith, in other countries.
Each year, the American Bar Association sets a theme for Law Day. This year's theme is Law in the 21st Century: Enduring Traditions, Emerging Challenges.
In line with this year's theme, the Columbus legal office challenges each and every American to take time today to read our founding documents, which form the basis of our uniquely American democratic "enduring traditions."

Further, each year the President of the United States issues a Law Day Proclamation. Several of these proclamations have contained similar, although more subtle, challenges to reconnect with our country's founding documents as a step to preserve our heritage of freedom.

In his first Law Day proclamation, President Eisenhower said "it is our moral and civic obligation, as free men and as Americans, to preserve and strengthen that great heritage."

President Ronald Reagan, in his first Law Day Proclamation in 1981 said "throughout our Nation's history, the preservation of individual rights has been dependent upon the dedication of our people to liberty and the institutionalization of its principles in the law of the land. Our forefather's dedication to liberty is clearly expressed in this Nation's great Charters of Freedom: The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These documents, which are the very foundation of American law, guarantee certain inalienable rights and privileges to every citizen."

Finally, President George W. Bush, in his 2008 Law Day proclamation stated "nearly 800 years ago, the Magna Carta placed the authority of government under the rule of law; centuries later, the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution mark tremendous advances in the march of liberty. These documents established enduring principles that guide modern democracies."

In other words, there would be no United States of America, a shining beacon of freedom left in this world, and of course, no Law Day, without our founding documents.

Thankfully, Law Day provides us with the opportunity to do something different. Considering the fact that military members take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, all Americans are challenged to turn off the video games or sporting events, put down the magazine, and actually read the document (as well as the Declaration of Independence) that you have taken a solemn oath to defend.

Considering our country's current struggles at home and abroad against enemies that wish to kill us because we are Americans, now is the time to reconnect with the principles on which this country was created... the greatest country ever created! Hopefully, in reading these documents you will remember that the United States has produced and exported unparalleled exceptionalism, as well as freedom and human dignity, across the world.

If you dare to take up this challenge please log onto www.constitutionfacts.com (which is one of many websites that contains our founding documents) and read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (and other interesting facts about our founding fathers). Enjoy the freedom we still have and have a great Law Day!