July 4, New Jersey and 'We the People'

Peter Rodino, Newark Congressman,
presided over the Nixon impeachment hearings.

Plainfielders giving thought to the significance of Independence Day would do well to ponder how the founding of this great, diverse country has led to opportunities for immigrants and the children of immigrants to put their stamp on the country and its place in world affairs.

Take the case of Peter Rodino, son of Italian immigrants and congressman from Newark from 1949 to 1989 (profile here).

Rodino eventually became chair of the House Judiciary Committee and was charged with presiding over the impeachment hearings of President Richard M. Nixon in 1973.

A model of probity and fairness, Rodino navigated the treacherous waters of the hearings -- which could have been merely a Democratic partisan exercise -- eventually securing a unanimous vote of Republican and Democratic members alike to impeach the President.

Preamble to the Constitution

Rodino's respect for the Constitution inspired his widow Joy to pen a memoir, Fifty-Two Words My Husband Taught Me, a meditation grounded in the preamble to the Constitution (more here), perhaps the most memorable words ever assembled by a committee --

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Joy was the subject of a recent profile by Ledger columnist Mark DiIonno (see here), a fitting brief read for this day that recalls our nation's founding.

Then, go out and take in the July 4th Parade, down Front Street to the center of town, beginning at 10:00 AM.

Your batteries will be recharged.

Time Magazine recognized Rodino's role.

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• Ledger: "A tribute to Peter Rodino and 'We the People'"
  
• Amazon: "Fifty-Two Words My Husband Taught Me"
  
• Wikipedia: "Peter (Pellegrino) W. Rodino"
• Cornell: "United States Constitution"
  

-- Dan Damon

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