Yesterday was our Constitution Day, and big celebrations.
In the morning it was the childrens parade, with all the elementary schools in town. Little boy is in 4th grade, and was participating with his school.
Then there was the citizens parade, with all the clubs and associations in town; the Kung Fu Club, Roller Derby Club, pro-football team, Students Society , Gay Association, Lions Club, Moto-Cross Club, Railroad-workers' Brass Band, Together for Jesus, and so on.
Same procedure as every year.
Our constitution is inspired by the French and the US, and builds on the principle of separation of powers; the executive, legislative and judicial, respectively.
Here are some punch-lines from the constitution, written about 200 years ago:
o All inhabitants of the Realm shall have the right to free exercise of their religion.
o The Evangelical-Lutheran religion shall remain the official religion of the State. The inhabitants professing it are bound to bring up their children in the same.
o Jesuits and monastic orders may not be tolerated. Jews remain excluded from admission to the kingdom.
o There shall be freedom of expression.
o Search of private homes shall not be made except in criminal cases.
My parents may have violated the 2nd statement, even though they possibly did their best to obey it (it just didn't work on me).
It's interesting that the most important statement is only six words.
One of the statements above has been removed from the constitution in modern times ... guess which.
(I don't take many pictures on the Constitution Day. It's the same every year, and I've seen it all before. The picture above is from the citizen's parade last year.)
I'm guessing the one about exclusion of Jews has been removed.
ReplyDelete'we confess that we have sinned against thee
ReplyDeletein thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.'
The part about what we have left undone is that which burrows deepest for me. In modern life, it is fairly easy to lead a life not ruled by hate, ie, the deplorable practice of excluding others based on religion, sex or creed. But how easy is it to love?
i'm glad your parents didn't succeed in following the second statement, as i personally find the most interesting people are those with the least amount of religion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Helen - I would imagine the exclusion of Jews has been removed.
ReplyDeleteYesterday (18/5) was voting here and what a fantastic day it was. Shows how our young democracy is maturing - the voting polls were calm, efficient and well run; the sun was shining and everyone was happy and smiling!
Husband (who has specialised in constitutional & tax law) says our constitution is one of the most advanced in the world...to be fair, we had the 100's of years of experience of the constitutions from the rest of the world to draw on! Still, this new South Africa is a good place to be! :)
Judy, South Africa
Helen: You're right. This statement was deleted in 1850, long before "modern times".
ReplyDeleteSuze: Interesting philosophical thoughts
id: I was quite resistive, and I don't think they tried very hard >:)
Judy: It's great to see how the young democracy is SA is evolving. The exhibition of your country during last years World Cup was fabulous. Unfortunately, there is no World Cup this year
I'd guessed the exclusion of Jews as well. What a parade! Sounds like it was quite a celebration.
ReplyDeleteNow I am imagining a team of Roller Derby girls in modified national costumes rolling forth on the streets in a parade.
ReplyDeleteLydia K: The exclusion of Jews was deleted after just a few years, fortunately.
ReplyDeleteSilme: That's basically what happened, except they had their regular outfits rather than national costumes.
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ReplyDeleteFascinating. Change is good.
ReplyDelete