Bigotry has no place in Constitution classes
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Editor,
Recently I attended a local Constitution study group’s educational class where the instructor said “Muslims should not be in the United States." I challenged this sentiment as unconstitutional and asked where in the U.S. Constitution it says anything about Muslims. The instructor’s response was “I have lived with and worked with Muslims, therefore I am uniquely qualified to make this statement about Muslims." Furthermore, he said “the founding fathers had a high level of distrust for Muslims and therefore also felt that Muslims should not be in this country."
The Declaration of Independence clearly states "All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The “Bill of Rights” clearly states “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of."
Article I, section 8, clause 4, of the U.S. Constitution clearly states congress shall establish a “uniform Rule of Naturalization."
Educating ourselves about the documents that founded this great country is very important, a civic duty which all citizens should participate in, but please be careful in your pursuit of the truth. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are made up of words, stick to the words contained in those documents, and don’t be misled by those who think it’s ok to conjure up new words, and new meanings for old words. Don’t be fooled by misleading anti-Muslim rhetoric, or any other form of bigotry.
If we allow ourselves to be taught, that people of a particular religious belief are inherently bad, therefore our duty to expel them from this country, then it won’t be long before our own beliefs or religions will come into scrutiny and preclude our own presence in this country.
Beliefs are not actions, and therefore not punishable by Constitutional law. As long as citizens act in accordance with Constitutional Law they are considered to be law abiding, therefore legally welcome in our country. Anti-Muslim rhetoric or any other form of bigotry have no place in our country and certainly have no place in the teachings of the United States Constitution.
John Swenson
Ronan
