Many people are familiar with the United States Constitution but may not truly understand its underlying spirit. To help Chinese immigrants in the Los Angeles area understand and integrate into American society, learn about the rule of law, and better pursue the American Dream, the Southern California organization “Everyone Has a Responsibility for Community Security” (TACF) will begin inviting Orange County Constitution scholar Larry McMillan to teach a course on the Constitution at the end of this month.
“I have been in the United States for over fifty years, often hearing about the Constitution, but I am actually not very familiar with the American Constitution,” said TACF President Guan Yixiu. “As we live in America, our children are growing up and studying here, we work to earn money and pursue dreams, we need to understand the true meaning of the American Constitution, know what rights we have. Otherwise, if your rights are taken away, you won’t even know.”
The United States Constitution sets out the basic political system of the United States, officially enacted in 1788. This Constitution establishes the principles of separation of powers, federal system, and the supremacy of the Constitution in the operation of the United States government. Later, out of concern that an overly powerful government might infringe on citizens’ rights, in 1791 the founding fathers of the United States passed 10 amendments to protect the rights of the people. Up to 1992, the United States has enacted a total of 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments, which are related to people’s rights, are collectively known as the “Bill of Rights.”
Guan Yixiu believes that these first 10 amendments are very important: “Because the founding fathers of the United States have given us three rights – the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, reporters can freely report, people can criticize the government, make jokes about the president, have the freedom of belief, the government cannot enter your house for searches at will, and your business cannot be arbitrarily confiscated.”
“Why do so many people like to come to the United States? Because the US Constitution has created these rights and freedoms for us, allowing us to pursue our own American Dream,” Guan Yixiu said. However, she also mentioned that many people are slowly forgetting that they have these rights, and some officials, once elected, forget that they are there to serve the people and instead seek personal gain. Therefore, offering Constitution courses is very helpful in enhancing civic awareness, understanding how the balance of public and private power works, learning to protect one’s interests, better following the law, and helping American society operate more healthily.
The Constitution course in the United States is non-partisan, and anyone can attend. The course starts on June 29th, once a week, from 3 to 5 pm on Saturdays. This round of courses will be taught in English, totaling 7 classes. For registration, please call (626)733-8788. The class will be held at 1300 Valley Vista Blvd., #203 Diamond Bar, CA 91765. ◇