An invitation to share thoughts on Constitution
Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, right after the end of summer and the rush of back-toschool and back-to-work comes this national moment of silence. We stop and stand still so we never forget. Twenty years ago, four commercial airliners were hijacked and used to strike both towers at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon. One other target was thwarted by the passengers of United Flight 93. Nearly 3,000 innocent people were murdered that day, including 161 from Connecticut.
In the immediate aftermath, many of us recall a singular feeling of unity among Americans. From neighborhood to neighborhood, we cared for and about each other, a literal embodiment of our national motto — “E pluribus unum,” Latin for “out of many, one.”
The firefighters and first-responders who ran up hundreds of flights of stairs in the towers, the passengers of Flight 93 who fought to take back the cockpit, those who enlisted in our Armed Forces after 9/11. These and other countless other acts of courage remind us that when challenged to the extreme and facing dire uncertain outcomes, so many individual Americans did not cower but took actions to do what they could. Many would say Americans that day also exemplified our other national motto, “In God We Trust.”
Six days after 9/11, on Constitution Day, we commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. Thirty-nine individuals — from welleducated to ordinary, clergymen to lawyers, farmers to tavern keepers, and more — were similarly united in their cause. Having just won independence from the British monarchy, the great challenge before them was how to organize a government so that they could live peaceably together as individual people, sovereign unto themselves.
Indeed, their mettle was tested and their actions forged a new nation rooted in the principles that it is a self-evident truth that all human beings are created equal and that all individuals are born with the God-given and unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution put “We, the People,” first and succeeding generations of people rose to the challenges of their time to debate vigorously — even fight a Civil War — to amend it as needed. Today, 234 years later, the Constitution with 27 amendments still stands as our governing document.
Connecticut is the Constitution State. We cherish this nickname as a people credited with adopting the first written governing document in western civilization, the Fundamental Orders of 1639. Since 2012, the Connecticut marketing slogan was “Still Revolutionary,” but we dropped this in 2019. Today, we have no slogan.
While we take time for reflection and in the spirit of our long celebrated American tradition of discussing and debating ideas, I invite you to consider submitting a brief essay on the topic of “What does the U.S. Constitution mean to you?” This is an effort to engage all citizens of all ages and all backgrounds to share their perspectives. The top five best short essays will be highlighted for the public to enjoy. Please find details at https://www.cthousegop.com/fiorello/essay-contest/