The Constitution is foundational to what we all love about America. Arizona State professor Paul Carrese noted in a lecture at the Wheatley Institute last year that “our very complex constitutional system of separation of powers and federalism inherently call for civil disagreement over both long-term and day-to-day political issues.” So, understanding the rights underlying our constitutional system and how they protect people who disagree with us is critical.
Wheatley Constitutional Government Fellow Shima Baughman contributed an op-ed to the Deseret News emphasizing the critical importance of constitutional protections in American society, drawing on her past experiences living without those rights in Iran. Despite recent politicization of constitutional pride, Baughman invites Americans to more fully accept the Constitution as a unifying power in civic discourse rather than a partisan symbol.