FDR's 'Second Bill of Rights' and UN
Declaration Show How 'Progressives' View You

Tuesday was Bill of Rights Day, December 15, celebrating the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. It's a day I commemorate every year, either with a column or a post on my The War on Guns blog, sometimes with unexpected results.

Case in point: Two years ago I invited readers to "Have a Contemplative Bill of Rights Day," to reflect on what the document and the rights it articulates mean. I posted a link to it on my Facebook page only to receive notice that it was blocked from others being able to see because it "goes against our community standards"!

If you think about it, it probably does.

This year brought another surprise to me, a recorded speech President Harry S. Truman gave on the importance of the Bill of Rights. I always appreciate seeing examples of how old school Democrats still had some understanding of the Constitution, or at least felt compelled to pay it lip service to the electorate. That's why from time to time I remind readers of statements on the Second Amendment by John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey where they indicated they understood perfectly well that it was intended as a safeguard against a tyrannical government.

How times have changed.

Doing some research on Truman to put his speech into context, I noticed posts about his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and a "second bill of rights." He had been the president who in 1941 first proclaimed Bill of Rights Day, so seeing what "New Deal" he had in mind caught my guarded interest. ....