The United States of America is the greatest nation in the world. The Constitution is a very big reason why.
That legal document is one of the most powerful things ever written. More than an achievement in our history, it is one of the most epic, formalized ideas in the history of the world. I have recently contributed a few articles about our judicial system and criminal justice reform. Some say I write from the prosecutor’s perspective, while others say I support criminals. But I consider myself a Constitutionalist. I embrace the Constitution and all the rights it guarantees to every person who resides in the U.S.
As a country, we have our flaws. Yet equality, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom to own property, equal protection under the law, and due process under the law are just a few of the unalienable rights the founders of our nation guaranteed to all — rights that have sustained as America has grown to become the most powerful nation on Earth. We offer proof that human freedom and great power can not only coexist but can exist in mutual dependence.
Some in America take these liberties for granted. But many people residing in other countries wish they could enjoy our “American” freedoms.
As we witness the war in Ukraine play out, noting the atrocities and abuses committed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the moral importance of America’s place in the world becomes clear. We are seeing the Russian military attack civilians, bomb hospitals, and destroy towns. Witnessing the mass of Ukrainian refugees forced to flee their homeland, I recognize how terrible it must be to live under the scourge of a dictatorship.
The pain extends.
Protesters in Moscow are being hauled into modern-day gulags. The dissident journalist and opposition politician Alexei Navalny faces an extension of his already absurd custodial sentence and transport to a far harsher prison. Our founding fathers understood such injustice and tyranny. They left England with the goal of building a better life. Our nation was once a group of colonies. We lived under the heel of oppression. But now we are the beacon of freedom.
While I disagree with some of our laws, it is undeniable that the U.S. grants its residents tremendous freedom. As we see now, a Russian citizen protesting the invasion of Ukraine can be thrown in prison with impunity. In America, anyone who is arrested has a right to a trial before being imprisoned. In America, we all have a right to free speech, to gather and rally, to protest. We have a right to speak out against injustice. Moreover, our leaders accept that they can and must face adversity in the court of public opinion.
The moral measure of America thus becomes that much clearer amid the carnage in Ukraine: Does Putin allow Russians to speak out against him? Does he care for Ukrainian civilians?
No and no.
Our Constitution guarantees we will always live free. For that, I am eternally thankful to be an American.
Robert Lefleur works as a prison consultant.
