The Magna Carta schmarta, 800 years ago or whatever...

Next year marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, which most historians would categorize as a very important event in the history of freedom. Indeed, the Magna Carta is the spiritual grandfather of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, documenting for the first time certain rights that all people possess.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The first time you heard about the Magna Carta was in the seventh or eighth grade when it was briefly mentioned in your history class. You have to know what it meant in English (Great Charter) and that King John signed it, and in high school you possibly had to know he signed it in 1215. However, most people know little else, or remember, the iconic document.

On June 15, 1215, the Magna Carta was signed by a beleaguered King John who weakened by war was forced by his nobles to recognize, at least on calfskin parchment, that his subjects had God-given rights. Especially his noble subjects. The Magna Carta also gave the Church a right to be without interference from the king.

Our rights come from God, and are granted to us each. Learn more about why that matters and other topics important to Catholics.

The document is the first in a series of documents which helped shape the western world. Although it was quickly annulled by the Pope, who feared the notion of subjects dictating to God-appointed kings, it was resurrected in part on several occasions, eventually becoming enshrined in English law in 1297.

The point of the Magna Carta is to limit the rule of monarchs by recognizing that people have God-given rights. And those rights cannot be forfeited without due process. For most people this seems like common sense, so ordinary and mundane is the premise -but return to an age 800 years ago when things like individual liberty were alien concepts, and you quickly gain an appreciation for its significance.

The document mostly marks a watershed in history, becoming the first time that the rights of people were recognized. Despite that distinction, the Magna Carta is largely forgotten by people today. Even British Prime Minister David Cameron famously had to be reminded what it was. Then again, few Americans can list the Amendments of the Bill of Rights correctly or can tell the difference between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Don't even bother asking about the Mayflower Compact.

Yet, these ideas, captured on parchment and paper, have intimately shaped the very fabric of our lives. We often have a sense when something doesn't quite fit with the notions expressed in these documents. For example, many Americans feel uneasy about DUI checkpoints (a.k.a. enforcement/compliance checkpoints) staged by police on weekends and holidays, even if they can't quite articulate why.

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This is a problem. We live in a nation that is founded on the principles enshrined in these documents, yet we are astoundingly unfamiliar with the documents themselves. Americans are quick to roll over when they are told that DUI checkpoints are "Constitutional."

Americans aren't happy with the National Security Agency, which has collected their data (alongside every marketing firm worth its salt) but they cannot muster themselves to make anything stop.

This is the price of our ignorance, the slow erosion of our God-given rights to practice our liberties without government intrusion. Given enough time, the complex machinations of unethical lawmakers, leaders, and with the collaboration of corrupted courts, the very rights enshrined in the Magna Carta and other documents will be stripped away. And like the proverbial frog in the pot of boiling water, we won't awaken to the danger until it is too late.

Perhaps the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta on June 15, 2015 will reawaken American interest in the principles upon which their nation was allegedly founded. Or more likely, they will be distracted by a bit of celebrity gossip or a juicy scandal.

It's up to you.

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