I have a new hero

Discussion of the surprising George Mason University basketball team on James Leroy Wilson's site included his passing comment of deep admiration for Mason the man and a link to a handy historical site that tells the tale of the man in bite-sized bits.

I'm embarrassed sometimes by my lack of knowledge - I embrace the themes and visions without knowing where they came from. I had no idea that George Mason wrote the document from which flowed the Bill of Rights. Five minutes after clicking, I was a huge fan of George Mason the man, and if the basketball team's success introduces many more people to this guy, yippee!

The first paragraph of the introduction to Mason was all I needed:

The Bill of Rights received a lot of attention during its recent 200th anniversary, but little recognition was given to George Mason, who was the driving force behind the document. Mason (1725-1792) was the author of the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, which the Marquis de Condorcet called "the first Bill of Rights to merit the name." Mason fought against ratification of the United States Constitution because it contained no bill of rights. As a leader of the AntiFederalists, his objections led to the first 10 amendments, which were ratified in 1791.

I dare any lover of freedom to read that 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights and not have your heart go pitty-pat with excitement. Ratified June 12, 1776, this is the stuff that liberty is made of - 16 bulwarks of freedom and none of the vagaries that have led to the myriad corruptions of the Bill of Rights.

1. That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

2. That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them ...

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

13. That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and be governed by, the civil power ...

Heady stuff! I can't wait to get past the first paragraph ... And if this is how Virginians thought, I want to be a Virginian when I grow up ...