For the past 20 years I have lived in Williamsburg, Virginia, home to Colonial Williamsburg. An excellent time to visit CW (as locals call it) is January and February, especially Super Bowl weekend. It seems that weekend there fewer visitors than any other. The CW interpreters are able to give their few visitors a good deal of attention and take the time to answer questions. I took advantage of the Super Bowl weekend lull to spend a day in CW. In one building I an another visitor enjoyed a leisurely, private presentation.

In the course of the day I became reacquainted with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of Virginia, adopted in Williamsburg June 12, 1776 and June 29, 1776 respectively. That Bill of Rights, a powerful precursor to the U.S. Bill of Rights, articulated our valued, deeply held intellectual freedom principles. Its 12th item states:

That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.

And its 16th and last states, in part:

That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience…

Just as New Yorkers proverbially take the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for granted and neglect the opportunity to visit them and learn, Williamsburg residents take CW for granted and neglect the opportunity to visit and learn. It is good to be reminded of the provenance of our ideas, especially when they lie so close by.