Freedom and democracy

It is altogether fitting that we take a few moments on September 17 – the date that Congress has designated as Citizenship Day and the first day of Constitution Week – to observe and honor the remarkable continuing vitality of the nation’s founding document, the United States Constitution. As residents of the newest part of the United States, we are indeed fortunate to share in the vast array of rights and privileges that have been guaranteed to residents of the mainland for more than 200 years.

Unlike many of our neighbors in this part of the world, thanks to the Constitution we have freedoms and liberties that are only dreamed of in other nations. Take, for example, the guarantees of the Bill of Rights which were promptly approved by the very first session of Congress under the new government in 1789. Our citizens have the freedom to worship as they please, to speak and write freely, even so far as to criticize the government, without fear of persecution. Our citizens have the right to be secure in their homes from unreasonable searches and seizures, and all those charged with crimes are guaranteed a speedy and public trial by a jury of their peers. The United States Constitution and the system of government it has created are the source of these invaluable and inalienable rights. We must never take these privileges for granted and it is appropriate that we set aside this day to recognize and honor this great document.

I am honored to serve as a federal judge charged with upholding the Constitution as a bulwark of the basic fundamental rights that we all enjoy as American citizens. As part of a government of laws and not of men, the courts play a key role in fairly and equally applying the law to see that justice is done. Challenging issues of constitutional magnitude arise in the conduct of everyday living – involving freedom, privacy, civil rights of access and free speech, and the right of all due process of all laws equally administered to everyone, among many others – and I see them in our Commonwealth and federal courtrooms on a daily basis. In recognition of the difficulty of resolving conflicts like these and the overriding importance of the rule of law, I am thankful for the Constitution’s foresight in providing federal judges with the protection to enable them to exercise the independence and freedom necessary to make these difficult decisions without fear of retribution or recrimination.

At the many naturalization ceremonies that I am honored to conduct in my role as a federal judge, I often observe that America is the most open and classless society in the world. New citizens here have the same opportunity as anyone else to fully develop their natural talents and abilities to contribute to the new society which they have chosen. Unlike the Old World, our newest citizens do not suffer the limitations of custom, tradition, the backgrounds of their parents, or the place they grew up, in their efforts to realize their full potential as individuals and citizens.

Naturalization ceremonies also provide an opportunity to explain how our constitutional form of government is superior to those forms of government found in other parts of the world. Each of the three forms of government – government by one, by the few, or by the many – has the potential for good or evil. Each may have aspects in which individuals may seek personal gain at the expense of the many. But our constitutional government has proven itself over more than two hundred years to be the best form of government because it provides the most benefit to the most people while protecting individual rights and liberties at the same time.

Today we celebrate 210 years of successfully delivering justice to American citizens under a Constitution that has adapted and remained relevant and vibrant after more than two centuries of experience. We reaffirm the promise of the Constitution that our courts are open to all, both for observation of the administration of justice and to use for redress as provided by law. Please join me in celebrating Constitution Day and the marvelous principles of freedom and democracy upon which it is based.

Alex R. Munson
Chief Judge
United States District Court
for the Northern Mariana Islands