ORGANIZATION
At the time of our nation's official organization, the Congress met in New York City. It was 1789; our senators and representatives faced a practical challenge beyond the completion and adoption of the Constitution. All had experienced the heavy hand of non-representative government, and some of the states wished to include greater protections for the "Blessings of Liberty" mentioned prominently in the Preamble to the Constitution.

How was this to be done? Many had worked for years to get the right balance of state and federal responsibilities into our founding document, and now there had to be some way in which to "adjust" it without rewriting large sections of it. Such a process could easily have become unworkable and divisive. These were dedicated and practical men, and they decided on a simpler path.

WE NEED MORE
The Congress, on Wednesday 4 March 1789, proposed the first ten Amendments to the Constitution. Both they and the Constitution itself were submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. According to the law, three-fourths of the legislatures must approve the documents in order for them to be accepted. Amendments One through Ten, now known collectively as the "Bill of Rights," were ratified 15 December 1791.

Since that acceptance by the country of a more specific list of freedoms, we have struggled with some of the provisions more than others. We are committed to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all citizens, but we are troubled at times when we try to define the parameters within which those terms function. Look at a few examples below.

YOURS, MINE, OR OURS?
The First Amendment attempts to keep religion from running the government, or vice versa; give us the right to speak out; assemble in common purpose; and petition the government for relief. Ideally, every citizen has equal access to the protection of this Amendment, but is every situation equally compelling?

The thorniest provision seems to be the one protecting the free exercise of religion, a remarkable change from the King's Church. Yet we hear about other forms of religious expression that differ from those with which we are familiar, and we wonder whether they actually fall under this umbrella. Who imagined Santeria, Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Mormonism all occupying the corners of the public square? In each case where relief was requested, a court's interpretation of the law of the land would begin at the Bill

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