WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THIS COUNTRY ADOPTED A NEW CONSTITUTION

Let’s make believe for a few minutes. Let’s pretend with me that the United States of America has no Constitution. We are going to start from scratch to invent the most democratic framework for freedom imaginable—to author the greatest constitution in the entire world. Then, we will compare our creation to what we already have.

So, what human rights would you want included in this world’s most democratic constitution?

You would want the basic freedoms, of course: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly. But wait a minute—since we are beginning at the very beginning, let us be more specific. Let us constitutionally guarantee the accessibility of television and radio for the average citizen to practice his freedom of speech. Let us make printing presses and paper publicly available.

As we ensure the right of the religious to worship, let us also constitutionally grant the atheist his right not to worship.

You mentioned freedom of assembly; let’s not leave it at that. Let’s talk about the freedom to organize street processions, to organize public demonstrations—things like that.

I know, I know. It may sound as though we are bending over backward to permit too many freedoms. But remember, this is our opportunity to author the ultimately democratic constitution. 

Let’s make everybody absolutely equal before the law—and I mean everybody, regardless of race, creed, education, nationality, occupation, social status, or sex. Let us directly ensure equal rights for women in this constitution of ours, and let us spell out the inalienable right to privacy.

What about the environment? We might devote an entire constitutional article to the conservation of resources, to ecological matters—our rights to pure water and clean air. We must not neglect the right of political asylum for foreigners, nor the right of citizens to vote for the candidates of their choice, even on matters of national policy. Especially the right of political criticism—that should be specified in this ultimately liberated and liberating constitution.

But can a constitution actually, realistically, guarantee all these freedoms when the true power is placed in the hands of its interpreters?

You see, the national constitution we have just discussed already exists. Every single human right I have mentioned has been technically guaranteed for many years and is, in fact, constitutionally insured. And yet, this ultimately free society—so carefully outlined on paper in what has been called the most democratic constitution in the world—remains an undelivered promise.

These are not the declared rights of America. These are the clear, declarative freedoms found in the national constitution of the Soviet Union.

And now you know the rest of the story.