This week’s discussion board is designed to have you consider how rights vary across “time and space”. In other words which rights are chosen to be included in constitutions and how these rights are defined and interpreted vary across countries and across states in the United States at the same point in time (the space dimension) and vary at different points in time within the same country. As you compare the U.S Bill of Rights and the Florida Declaration of Rights, on the one hand, with the European Union Charter, look for example at how rights concerning religion are described. Likewise, can you detect any differences in provisions for capital punishment or gun rights. Can you locate the right to privacy in the U.S. Bill of Rights? Is it found in the Florida Constitution or in the EU Charter? When you examine the European Charter on Human Rights do see any rights listed there that aren’t in Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution? Hint: Notice that the EU Charter contains a number of social and economic rights. Why would such rights be found in the EU Charter but not in the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights? Give examples of what you discover and think about why these differences may exist. Keep in mind that these versions of “rights” were written at different points in history (the time dimension again). For example, the U.S. Bill of Rights were written in 1789 and ratified in 1791. The EU Charter evolved late in the 20th century. Does this time line tell us anything about how to think about rights?
Lesson 2 also has a link to the Pennsylvania Constitution, in case you want to examine that document as well. Article I is the Declaration of Rights
- Compare U.S. Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10) with the Declaration of Rights in the Florida Constitution, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
