Jay Cost explains at National Review Online why the American Founders’ vision of freedom continues to anger authoritarians.
What is amazing about the Constitution is how radical it is — not only by the standards of 1787, but even by our own today. The system of government it delineates is one that is both deeply libertarian and profoundly republican.
It is easy overlook this — no doubt due to the failings of the delegates themselves. Their vision for civil society was far-sighted, but they placed too many restrictions on who gets to participate in it. …
… The main improvement that subsequent generations have made upon the Constitution is expanding the definition of citizenship. But we have left largely untouched the Founding vision of what civic participation entails. And it is here that we find two ideas that, even so many years later, are still audacious.
The first is the notion that civil liberty must be nearly absolute. The First Amendment guarantees the right to speak, to assemble, and to worship — with no caveats whatsoever. The Second Amendment empowers the people to arm themselves, as an alternative to standing armies, which had historically been tools of oppression. The remaining amendments in the Bill of Rights keep the government from abusing the rights of privacy, ensure fair and humane treatment in the investigation and prosecution of crimes, and underscore the limitations of federal authority. …
… The second idea is a radically republican conception of the state. …
… Their system of government was founded solely upon the people — with no self-appointed or hereditary authority. And we see their radicalism in the fact that they affirmed this commitment in 1787, when popular government in the United States seemed to have been foundering for many years.
