This year is our 250th anniversary honoring our Founders forming and uniting a country under their vision of unalienable rights. The Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights created our American identity, our shared common knowledge bond. Our founding documents don’t specifically call out protecting human dignity, maybe because our Founders thought protecting human dignity was just common sense, similar to knowing not to touch a hot stove. The King of England treaded on human dignity and was burned.

We know not every Founder practiced what was envisioned during our early years. I wonder if our post-revolution history would have changed had our Founders prioritized protecting human dignity in our founding documents. Would our country have experienced a more civil beginning, a history respectful of indigenous and immigrant peoples, a history phasing out slavery sooner to avoid a Civil War? I know, wishful thinking.

I worry we are forgetting the human struggles we have overcome. We will always have evil people, but America stands for protecting human dignity at home and around the world. But our image is being tarnished, I see individual’s human dignity being trampled daily. There is right way and a wrong to go after the worst of the worst to protect America and its citizens. America will always have people doing the worst, but we will always have heroes like U.S. Army Officer Hugh Thompson and his crew, who in 1968 landed their helicopter between unarmed South Vietnamese civilians and U.S. soldiers, demanding higher ranking U.S. Officers to stand-down. Thompson and his crew stopped additional killings at My Lai.

Our country was, is, and will always be divided on issues, which I embrace. I believe our differences create better solutions and strengthens our checks and balances. As individuals we don’t need to solve each issue, our responsibility as citizens is to do a better job of selecting/vetting our leaders, ones willing to seek out the best nonpartisan solutions from our best experts in every field. To see each other with human dignity and stand firm in holding those who tread on anyone’s human dignity accountable.

The caveat is our current and future American leaders must not only pledge an oath to support and defend the Constitution, but also to protect human dignity. Our leaders need to regain common sense, knowing treading on human dignity is like touching a hot stove.

Is it time to add human dignity protection into our 1st Amendment to help reset America’s vision?

First draft…“Human dignity shall be inviolable, human dignity is an absolute right, it is an eternal right, and it constitutes America’s vision embodied in our Declaration of Independence. Henceforth, Congress shall make no law violating human dignity; 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 to petition the Government for a redress of grievances; supporting Amendments and Amendments yet to be created, shall adhere to and protect human dignity.”

America’s standing in the world is inalienably linked to human dignity, and common sense tells me… should we falter in protecting human dignity, we will all get burned. November mid-term elections are near, choose wisely.