I was just reading on article on how Sept 17 is now federally mandated as the day to teach about the Constitution in schools that get any federal money.  This got me thinking on what I remember learning about it when I was in HS back in the late 80s.  There was this flip chart in my Social Studies class that stated "The Will of Majority Shall not Infringe on the Rights of the Minority."  For years after I thought this was part of the Constitution or at least somewhere in Bill of Rights, but its not.  Was any one else thought this in school?

"The Will of Majority Shall not Infringe on the Rights of the Minority" while true, it is not actually written in the Constitution.  And when the word "minority" is mentioned today, it usually comes with the connotation of races and classes that are "disadvantaged" or "underprivileged."  But when you get right down to it, the real minorities are not groups, because the smallest minority is the individual, and the individual's rights should never be compromised by the will of the majority.  They could be overruled in a true democracy of "majority rule" though.


Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

My particular favorite was a Washington Post article yesterday that quoted some 6th graders who decided that the term "general welfare" in the Preamble means.  Count on the liberal education establishment to polute an otherwise good idea.  Listen to this drivel:

(complete article here)

By the end of the class, Emily and her classmates came up with a "kid-friendly" version of the preamble, declaring that "everybody including kids, pets and adults, to make the U.S.A. a better place," is entitled to "electricity, shelter, food, water, schools and love."