December 29, 2003
Bill of Rights Day LTE in SF Examiner

The San Francisco Examiner also printed my Bill of Rights Day Letter to the Editor, though they carved it up so much that I don't really like what was left. It makes me sound like a teenager. (EDIT: No offense intended to teenagers-- I should have said "It makes me sound like I would have when I was a teenager". That's closer to what I had in my mind when I said that.)

Here's the letter they printed:

Happy Birthday, Bill

DEC. 15 is Bill of Rights Day -- the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

I've concluded that I think that's pretty cool, and if there's a holiday deserving a spot in my annual calendar, it's Bill of Rights Day.

I know the timing's not great, but what can you do? You can't change a birthday.

Lance Brown
Nevada City

...and here's what I sent in:

December 15th is Bill of Rights Day - the anniversary of the ratification
of the Bill of Rights.

I only became aware that it was a holiday in recent years, and the first
time I celebrated Bill of Rights Day was in 2001. As a Libertarian, living
through a wholesale expansion of federal law enforcement tactics in the
name of the "war on terror", honoring the birthday of the Bill of Rights
with a rally seemed like a smart idea.

The next year, the ideas behind the rising threats to civil liberties had
matured into a change in attitude of many Americans and elected officials,
about limits on the government's power to impose itself on us. In that
environment, I held a "funeral" for the Bill of Rights-- and, like most
funerals, it was a celebration of the Bill's life, as well as the mourning
of a loss.

This year, I've come to accept that this is a holiday that's becoming
genuinely important to me. And I've concluded that I think that's pretty
cool, and if there's a "new" holiday deserving a spot in my annual
calendar, it's Bill of Rights Day. Maybe you should try it out yourself
for a few years, and see how it fits for you. I know the timing's not
great, but what can you do? You can't change a birthday.

I've recently compiled nearly 20 ways that people can celebrate and honor
Bill of Rights Day, and put them into a free website:
http://billofrightsday.com . It will be there this year and every year, to
help people make plans for the big day. I hope you'll take part in this
growing tradition.

Come on everyone, give it a try: "Happy Bill of Rights Day!"

It just goes to show you-- keep it short, or they'll make it short for you (and you might not like how).

The SacBee took an alternate route. The editor e-mailed me and told me I had to cut the length for them to print it. So I re-submitted the letter, shortened a bunch. The letter they printed ended up being just what I sent in the second time.

Posted by Lance Brown at December 29, 2003 12:00 AM
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