Refreshing the Magna Carta for America1
“The democratic aspiration is no mere recent phase in human history … It was written in Magna Carta.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1941 Inaugural address
We believe that truth is morally central in our personal and public lives. There can be neither justice nor democracy without truth. The People have a right to truth from those in public office.
We believe that nobody, not even one of the very highest status, is above the law. Any notion of “sovereign immunity” provided in law for those in positions of public trust applies to what they do with honor in the course of their duties but not to any criminal conduct in which they may engage.
We call for all of those holding public positions, most especially those in executive, legislative, or judicial roles, to be required to desist from all conflicts of interests and all appearance of such and to desist, under penalty of perjury, from false official statements. Placing partisan allegiance above duty is a conflict of interests.
We hold that the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is essential for all the other rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. We reject the idea that the United States is a “Christian nation,” and we reject the idea that any nation, state, or locality should have a religious identity in law. We hold that, always and everywhere, religious coercion is abuse and should never legitimately be seen as free exercise.
We hold that individual medical privacy2 is among the most important of the unenumerated rights under the U.S. Constitution. We hold that rights under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and historical rights in English law and U.S. law from the time of the statutory English Magna Carta of 1297 that remain reasonably applicable today are also unenumerated rights.
We hold that provisions in federal, state, and local laws lacking clear secular purpose3 must be regarded legally as religious in nature and therefore unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
We believe that every human being on our planet is our neighbor deserving of justice and our respect.
We believe that every human being is entitled to basic essentials for survival: food, clothing, shelter, health care, and education.
We stand against oppression based on race, color, creed, ethnic origin, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ability, age, or difference, and we call for all non-criminal strangers to be treated with welcome while in our land.
We call for leaders at all levels to learn once again to work together, particularly toward economic imperatives, economic justice for all, and equal opportunity for all.
We hold that judicial interpretation of the law may not extend so far as to be tantamount to the writing of new law. We believe that Congress should provide for accountability of the U.S. federal judiciary.
We call for reason in the interpretation of the law, including the U.S. Constitution: Where the meaning of the text is plain and applicable to the context at hand, that meaning should govern. Beyond that an interpretive construction of the text, including the widely discernible history of legislative intent, to which all can agree by force of reason should govern. Consistent with the above, judicial precedent must be honored.
Footnotes
- * Version of January 8, 2025. There is a PDF version for printing (8.5x11 inches).
- * Medical privacy is required by the Oath of Hippocrates.
- * Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 US 602 (1971)