MyBillofRights.org -to promote an enduring awareness of and respect for the freedoms guaranteed

[Poboy]

Mission Statement
Our mission is to promote an enduring awareness of and respect for the freedoms and the principles guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, through the installation of Bill of Rights displays in civic spaces across America.
MyBillOfRights.org Executive Director Chris Bliss

Everywhere I go in America these days, the people I talk with have two things in common: a profound love for our country, and an equally profound concern that we have lost our way. As we face the most daunting challenges in generations, more and more Americans are seeking out common ground, and turning away from the divisiveness and polarization that have characterized our national conversation for too many years.

It is this heartfelt longing to rebuild that conversation on a foundation of mutual respect and shared purpose which is the inspiration behind MyBillofRights.org. Of all the writings of our founders, none embodies this spirit as clearly as the Bill of Rights.

With the fate of the Constitution hanging in the balance, the most brilliant minds of their day engaged in a heated debate. Their philosophical and political differences were easily as great as ours today, and the challenges facing them no less daunting. Yet all had the humility in their brilliance to recognize that no single person or group among them knew everything, and so they came together to form a consensus. The result of this compromise, which rescued the Constitution and held together the fledgling United States, was the Bill of Rights, a document so visionary that it remains today the most powerful and successful assertion of individual rights and liberties ever created.

As our nation stands at the crossroads, the Bill of Rights can be a shining beacon pointing the way to rebirth and renewal. Its freedoms and principles are not just the wellsprings of our laws and justice system; they are also the source of our prosperity, the core of our moral force in the world, and a major reason why America remains so necessary to a world mired in injustice, inequality, and governmental oppression.

It is time for us to rediscover our own Bill of Rights; to elevate it to the position of public prominence it richly deserves; and in so doing to help replant the seeds of America’s greatness so that the generations who follow can share in their bounty as we have.

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Welcome to MyBillofRights.org

Over two centuries since its ratification in 1791, the Bill of Rights remains the single most powerful legal assertion of individual rights and liberties ever written. Its balance of political principles and personal liberty has proven both dynamic and durable, becoming the worldwide road map for basic human rights. Indeed, the very phrase “bill of rights” is now synonymous with the demand for freedom from oppression.

Yet today, the origin and significance of the Bill of Rights is barely even taught in our schools; and its 10 Amendments are even more rarely publicly displayed. Not until 2008 was there a single permanent display of the Bill of Rights anywhere in America, and there is still not a single major public celebration of this remarkable document.

This is not just a matter of neglecting our history. The concepts developed in the Bill of Rights have much light to shed on our current dilemma. The free exchange of ideas is not just essential to civic discourse; it also produces the innovations that drive prosperity. Checks and balances, designed to limit concentrations of power and their abuse, also promote transparency and accountability; the lifeblood of free markets. The right to bear arms and the presumption of innocence both put the government on notice as to who is the master and who the servant in our Republic, as timely a message today as ever.

At MyBillofRights.org, our mission is to place displays of the Bill of Rights in civic spaces across America. Our State Capitols and Town Squares initiatives seek to elevate the Bill of Rights to the position of prominence it deserves, as a clarion call to secure and preserve this American birthright of liberty for generations to come.


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Texas
MyBillofRights.org has now received approval to release designs and begin fundraising for what we believe will become a national destination Bill of Rights Plaza, situated in front of the Texas Supreme Court in Austin, adjacent to the historic Texas Capitol grounds. Lead designer (and Texas native) Holly Kincannon’s elegant re-imagining of the existing space is both compelling and dignified, providing an environment where each individual amendment can be reflected on, and the sum of these remarkable parts celebrated.

This achievement is the product of almost three years of hard work, beginning early in 2007, when Reps. Mark Strama (D-Austin) and Joe Straus (R-San Antonio), along with co-authors Reps. Phil King (R-Weatherford) and Elliot Naishtat (D-Austin) introduced HCR 111. The resolution was approved with broad bipartisan support, and signed into law by Texas Governor Rick Perry on June 18, 2007. After 18 months of design development and stakeholders meetings, MyBillofRights.org has now received all necessary approvals to begin fundraising.








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Town Squares
In addition to our State Capitols initiative, MyBillofRights.org has launched a Town Squares initiative to partner with local citizens and groups interested in developing displays for their communities, and assisting with fundraising. If you are interested in partnering with MyBillofRights.org on a Town Squares project where you live, click here.


First In The Nation: July 5, 2008



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LINK-
http://www.mybillofrights.org/live/about/


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[Poboy]

1. Just a self kick for the bill of rights. IMO, we as Dems. need to champion these.

We should embrace and cherish them.