Why Do We Celebrate These Anniversaries?

Anniversaries are like rest stops on the highway of life. They give us a chance to reflect on our journey, appreciate how far we’ve come, and look forward to the future.

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Photo by Isabella Fischer on Unsplash

September was an important month for the Raleigh household because it was the month of anniversaries: Constitution and Citizenship Day, the day I proudly became a naturalized U.S. citizen, and the day Mike and I got married. All three anniversaries are only a few days apart.

September 17th is the Constitution Day. On this day in 1787, 39 delegates signed the Constitution in Philadelphia. Some of them, including Benjamin Franklin, had reservations about the text. Always focusing on the big picture, Benjamine Franklin gave the most eloquent and thoughtful speech to convince his fellow dissenters to shift their attention and energy to how they would administer the Constitution. Ultimately, all dissenters overcame their doubts and signed the Constitution, a decision that would shape the nation's future.

The Constitution Day holds a special place in my heart for two main reasons. It's a day that symbolizes the journey of every immigrant who aspires to be a U.S. citizen. The civic test, a requirement for U.S. citizenship, is a testament to our commitment to understanding and upholding the principles of the U.S. Constitution. As part of the test preparation, I had to study the U.S. Constitution, a document that has become a part of my identity as a citizen.

The U.S. Constitution is unique in many ways. It’s a simple and terse document. But, its simplicity represents “ultimate sophistication” (DaVinci) and is one of the reasons why it is timelessness. The Constitution is not a rule book limiting how citizens ought to behave. Instead, its goal is to restrict the government’s behavior so people can live as freely as they desire. As James Madison, father of the Constitution, explained

“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined...We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.”

More than two centuries after its birth, the U.S. Constitution, with its radical idea of limiting government power rather than restricting individual freedom, continues to inspire admirers worldwide. Its simplicity, eloquence, and effectiveness in guaranteeing individual freedom make it a unique model. The historical context of its birth, as a response to the tyranny of British rule, underscores its enduring influence as a guarantor of liberty.

It may come as a surprise that the Constitution of Communist China also includes provisions for citizens’ rights to free speech, assembly, and religion. However, these rights are not inherent but are presented as privileges granted by the Communist Party. This starkly contrasts with the U.S. Constitution, where individual rights are seen as natural and inalienable. The Communist Party can revoke these ‘privileges’ at will, a power it has exercised numerous times, trampling on the rights of the Chinese people throughout its brutal and oppressive history.

A famous incident occurred during China’s notorious Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Liu Shaoqi, a Party leader and Chairman Mao’s appointed successor, fell out with Mao in the 1960s. Mao decided to take Liu down by unleashing his naive but deadly weapon, the Red Guards (high school and college students fanatically loyal to Mao). The Red Guards overpowered the security guarding Liu’s office and rushed inside; Liu was said to hold a copy of China’s constitution and declared to the Red Guards, “I am the Vice Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, and I have rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Liu’s declaration was met with contempt and mockery. One Red Guard waved his little red book, a collection of Mao’s quotes, and shouted at Liu, “That piece of paper [the Constitution] cannot protect you. Only whatever Chairman Mao says is the law. And Chairman Mao said you are public enemy No. 1.”

Liu was dragged out of his office. He and his family endured violent and humiliating public struggle sessions. He was stripped of all his titles and even party membership. On Nov. 12, 1969, Liu died in a jail in Kaifeng, northern Henan province, under a fake name without any family members present.

An estimated 2 million Chinese were killed during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Liu was one of them. The Constitution couldn’t protect them because under a totalitarian regime, the dictator’s will was the absolute law, and the Constitution was merely a useless piece of paper.

Fortunately, that’s not the case in the United States (at least not yet). Before the U.S. government recognized a National Constitution Day, numerous grassroots organizations had already taken the initiative to organize their annual commendation of the Constitution. They regarded the day as an opportunity to “strengthen the faith of the people of America in the constitution of the United States by means of a popular exposition of its essential doctrines.”

In the 1930s, Publisher William Randolph Hearst promoted the idea of a new holiday called “I Am an American Day” in May to celebrate citizenship. President Franklin D. Roosevelt adopted the idea and made it a national holiday day,

“A day to honor those whose voluntary allegiance to the United States has given them citizenship through naturalization, and those who have most recently come into responsible citizenship by reaching maturity.”

President Harry Truman, a key figure in the establishment of Citizenship Day, renamed “I AM an American Day” to “Citizenship Day” and moved it to September 17—the same day as Constitution Day—in 1952. He explained his rationale this way:

“It is most fitting that every citizen of the United States, whether native-born or foreign-born, should on September 17 of each year give special thought and consideration to his rights and responsibilities under our Constitution.”

Unlike other national holidays, the annual Commendation of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is a unique and solemn occasion. It is not about fireworks or sales, but a day when each of us should dedicate time to appreciate and contemplate our rights guaranteed by the Constitution and our responsibilities to this Republic.

My connection with the U.S. Constitution was deepened on September 18, 2013, the day after Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, when I became a naturalized U.S. citizen. I passed a civic test in the morning, which included several questions regarding Constitutional amendments, and participated in the afternoon swear-in ceremony. The most sacred part of the ceremony for me was to join my fellow 50-plus new citizens, a diverse group from all corners of the world, to take an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution,

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

Although we all looked different and spoke different native tongues, we were united by one identity: our citizenship, one document, the U.S. Constitution, and one sacred oath and commitment to defend it from now on. For the 50 new citizens, September 18 was a day of rebirth.

Was it a coincidence or divine intervention that Mike and I married within the same week of the Constitution and Citizenship Day?