Apologies to the non US citizen listers though you may find this of
interest.

Saturday, December 15, 2001 will mark the 210th anniversary of the
ratification of the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United
states of America. These are collectively known as, "The Bill of Rights." In
my opinion this is one of the greatest if not the greatest document ever
written by humankind.

No nation prior to this one had dared enumerate the rights and privileges of
its citizens. The authors and ratifiers, though arguably many were of
dubious background and character, were able to present a clear vision of the
civil liberties that must be enjoyed by citizens of a free nation. Some
previous governments had promised more rights, some had even delivered these
rights, for a time. The difference with this document was that it was woven
into the fabric of the nation. These rights were part of the very basis of
the laws that made the nation, the Constitution. Take away these rights and
the nation, its laws and freedoms will unravel.

What is the Bill of Rights:  (See:
http://constitution.by.net/uSA/BillOfRights.html )

Tell your friends and neighbors that you respect their rights and realize
that this is what makes this country different than others. Every tinhorn
dictator has a flag but very few countries operate under the banner of a
bill of rights. Next time you hear of someone "getting off on a
technicality" remember that that "technicality" is the Bill of Rights. That
document is all that keeps any of us from being abused by people that have
the power to make their whim our reality. You are more likely to give away
your rights than you are to have them taken away by force.

I urge all citizens of the United States to commemorate this anniversary by
helping to assure that these rights live on. Write your elected
representatives and tell them that you are a firm believer in this document.
Tell them that you wish to see this document upheld and strengthened. Share
this document with your friends abroad.

Help to keep this 210 year old experiment in humanity's ability to live in
peace and prosperity on track. The hypothesis was that human beings could
forge a society based on the rights of people that would last forever. So
far the data confirms this hypothesis.

With wishes of peace and prosperity to all, whoever and wherever you are.

The opinions expressed herein are my own and not necessarily those of my
employer.
Yosef Rosenblatt

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