Happy Constitution Day - How are you celebrating? And, if you're not celebrating, why aren't you?

Did you have to memorize the Preamble when you were a kid? You know...

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Illinois schoolkids have to take a test demonstrating some knowledge of the Constitution -- the dreaded Constitution test, I've heard it called -- before completing junior high.

But are they taught to revere this document? Are they even taught to support the Constitution? We lawyers -- most regular FWIW readers are lawyers, I believe -- take a solemn oath at the outset of our legal careers to "support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Illinois." (See, 705 ILCS 205/4.)

Do you support the Constitution? How?

We live in an age where, as near as I can tell, American history is taught -- by Americans, to Americans -- as a compilation of failures and shortcomings. This downbeat, even despairing narrative is more honest, proponents say, than the Parson Weems version of American history taught a century ago. And I suppose that's true (and, no, I'm not going to explain Parson Weems to you -- although I'm sure you've never heard of him -- look him up yourself). I even agree with that assessment, at least to the extent that I agree America is imperfect. Only God is perfect. But we so enjoy domestic tranquility and the Blessings of Liberty that teachers are free to put a negative spin on our country's history without fear of arrest or even sanction: Imagine a Russian teacher badmouthing Soviet history during the Cold War -- or even mentioning, for example, the Holodomor or the Katyn Massacre -- and that's an example of our Constitution in action.

Remind your kids, remind your grandkids, remind yourself if necessary -- the Constitution makes us free: Not because it is written down on parchment, but because you and I, and all of us together, support and defend it. May God continue to bless the United States of America and our beloved Constitution. Happy Constitution Day.