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Hi, fellow Americans!  I’m standing in the National Archives building reading the actual Declaration of Independence – the document that stated that all men were created equal and granted us rights. It’s amazing to see a document that was written more than 230 years ago! When the guard at the archives asked whether I wanted to see the actual declaration, I was excited and scared that clumsy little me would even be near such an important piece of history. I was relieved to see it was enclosed in a glass case. In fact, I saw many cases that contained documents. The guard, who had become our unofficial tour guide said, “Come on. I’ll show you what’s in the others.” 

“This is the Constitution of the United States.  Remember when I told you the Declaration of Independence gave birth to America in 1776, but we still had to fight for freedom?  Well, the Constitution, written by our “founding fathers,” developed a federal government. The Constitution said the U.S. was a republic – meaning citizens had rights. It also said the U.S. would have a president who is elected by the people. In addition, there would be a Congress to make laws, a Supreme Court (the highest court in the land) to uphold the laws, and a system among the three of those branches to “check and balance,” so no branch would gain too much power.” I imagined what it would be like to actually write the Constitution. I still struggled writing my full name; I could only dream of handwriting a piece of history.

After seeing the Constitution, I thanked the guard, thinking we had seen all there was to see. “Wait, pups!  You can’t leave now!  I haven’t shown you the Bill of Rights!”  “Bill who?” I asked.  “The Bill of Rights,” he answered, “the document that gives us freedom. After the Constitution was written, a government was in place but the rights of citizens had not been addressed. So, amendments – or changes – were made to the Constitution. The first ten changes are called The Bill of Rights, and it gives us freedoms.”

“Freedom from what?” I asked. “Well,” the guard continued, “the first amendment says we have freedom of speech, religion, press, and assembly.”  “In wiener dog terms, please,” I said. He smiled and said, “It means you can express your opinion – either by barking or writing – without fear of being punished. Freedom of press means that people who write or broadcast news can tell what’s happening in the world. Freedom of religion means we can follow any religion – or not follow any religion – without being punished; an freedom of assembly tells citizens that we can join any group or political party without government involvement. The first amendment also says that we can ask the government to help if we feel we’ve been punished unfairly.”

Wow!  After hearing about our Bill of Rights, I felt so – well, FREE!  I didn’t know citizens had so many rights. I wondered whether Chloe and I had any rights as wiener dogs. Did we have the right to chase the kitty cats in our neighborhood or to bark at the mailman? I was pondering those questions when the guard handed me a brochure with the Bill of Rights listed. I made a resolution to learn all ten amendments. I was certain that would help me be more civic-minded, even if they didn’t apply so much to wiener dogs. The four of us thanked the guard and headed to the National Mall.

I was thinking about my rights when I saw the longest two words I had ever seen. I was sounding out the letters when Mom chimed in and said, “Look, the Smithsonian Institution!” 

We learned the Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum with 19 museums and galleries. It could have taken days to see just one Smithsonian. Chloe’s favorite was the Museum of American History. She loved seeing the dresses of the First Ladies, Abraham Lincoln’s hat and even Mr. Roger’s sweater! My favorite was the National Air and Space Museum. I pretended I was an Apollo astrodog. How cool to be the first dog to walk on the moon. I can hear it now, “Houston, The Wiener Dog has landed!”

Next time, see if I am orbiting the earth. In the meantime, Houston, work and dream like a big dog!”

Woody, a k a Mr. Dogwood

Thanks to LG&E/KU both E.ON companies and KPA for making this project possible. Thanks to the Kentucky Secretary of State for sponsoring the new podcast. For podcast and questions and activities go online to www.kypress.com.