To Our Readers
As Americans have moved down the tumultuous path that has been laid out before them for the last 9 years, it has become obvious that we are being presented with huge challenges that pit basic political philosophies against each other. Strong and vocal camps have shouted their rhetoric at every opportunity. Whether far left progressives or far right tea party advocates, everyone, it seems, is vying for our support.
The progressives would have us move to an ever bigger federal government whose primary function is to “take care” of all Americans, rich or poor, healthy or sick.
At the same time, tea party advocates argue for a smaller federal government which they contend conforms to what the founders envisioned when they created the U. S. Constitution.
One faction views the constitution as a living, breathing, malleable document that must necessarily change with the evolving desires and needs of the American people. The other side insists that the original framers meant what they said and that the constitution is firm on its granting of very limited rights to the federal government, while reserving everything else for the states.
Americans find themselves in 2010 engaged in a very serious battle between these factions that will determine the ultimate course this nation follows.
Regardless of which ideology our readers follow, we feel it is important that they understand fully what the framers of our constitution said. Then, we suggest, each person should search their soul and make an educated and informed decision as to which direction they want this country to go. To demonstrate the importance of this process, we cite the following. When recently polled, only 8 percent, yes, less than 10 percent, of Americans participating could name all five freedoms guaranteed by the first Amendment. For your information, Amendment I declares that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of RELIGION or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of SPEECH, or of the PRESS, or the right of the people peaceably to ASSEMBLE, and PETITION the Government for the redress of grievances.”
The Hannibal Courier-Post published a special section on July 3 featuring the Declaration of Independence, on the cover and in addition to the signatures contained on it, added the signatures of approximately 300 residents of northeast Missouri who came to our offices to add their support to this most basic document of our country.
Because of the huge statement of support for our country and our special section, we have decided that it is appropriate to publish the entire U. S. Constitution in the pages of this newspaper. I did not want to publish the entire document in one piece, because, while concise, it is still a lengthy document. Therefore, we will, beginning today, publish easily digestible installments in each edition of the Hannibal Courier-Post, beginning with Article I and concluding with the 27th Amendment.
I am not certain how long it will take to publish this vitally important document, but we hope you “tune in” each day and read each installment. We will also put the installments on our website, “hannibal.net,” for your convenience. We will do our best to print each installment in the same place in the paper to make it easier for you to find, understanding that there are at times limitations that require we move it to another location.
We urge every newspaper reader, for that matter every resident of this region, to read the constitution and understand what it is saying. We face a critical time in this nation’s history and I pray that we make the right decisions on our future.
Sincerely,
Jack Whitaker
Publisher
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To Our Readers
As Americans have moved down the tumultuous path that has been laid out before them for the last 9 years, it has become obvious that we are being presented with huge challenges that pit basic political philosophies against each other. Strong and vocal camps have shouted their rhetoric at every opportunity. Whether far left progressives or far right tea party advocates, everyone, it seems, is vying for our support.
The progressives would have us move to an ever bigger federal government whose primary function is to “take care” of all Americans, rich or poor, healthy or sick.
At the same time, tea party advocates argue for a smaller federal government which they contend conforms to what the founders envisioned when they created the U. S. Constitution.
One faction views the constitution as a living, breathing, malleable document that must necessarily change with the evolving desires and needs of the American people. The other side insists that the original framers meant what they said and that the constitution is firm on its granting of very limited rights to the federal government, while reserving everything else for the states.
Americans find themselves in 2010 engaged in a very serious battle between these factions that will determine the ultimate course this nation follows.
Regardless of which ideology our readers follow, we feel it is important that they understand fully what the framers of our constitution said. Then, we suggest, each person should search their soul and make an educated and informed decision as to which direction they want this country to go. To demonstrate the importance of this process, we cite the following. When recently polled, only 8 percent, yes, less than 10 percent, of Americans participating could name all five freedoms guaranteed by the first Amendment. For your information, Amendment I declares that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of RELIGION or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of SPEECH, or of the PRESS, or the right of the people peaceably to ASSEMBLE, and PETITION the Government for the redress of grievances.”
The Hannibal Courier-Post published a special section on July 3 featuring the Declaration of Independence, on the cover and in addition to the signatures contained on it, added the signatures of approximately 300 residents of northeast Missouri who came to our offices to add their support to this most basic document of our country.
Because of the huge statement of support for our country and our special section, we have decided that it is appropriate to publish the entire U. S. Constitution in the pages of this newspaper. I did not want to publish the entire document in one piece, because, while concise, it is still a lengthy document. Therefore, we will, beginning today, publish easily digestible installments in each edition of the Hannibal Courier-Post, beginning with Article I and concluding with the 27th Amendment.
I am not certain how long it will take to publish this vitally important document, but we hope you “tune in” each day and read each installment. We will also put the installments on our website, “hannibal.net,” for your convenience. We will do our best to print each installment in the same place in the paper to make it easier for you to find, understanding that there are at times limitations that require we move it to another location.
We urge every newspaper reader, for that matter every resident of this region, to read the constitution and understand what it is saying. We face a critical time in this nation’s history and I pray that we make the right decisions on our future.
Sincerely,
Jack Whitaker
Publisher
