How many people knew it was Constitution Day? According to newly elected State Rep. Chris Paddie, none of the people he randomly asked  did. Paddie spoke at Panola College in Carthage yesterday after a medley of patriotic music was presented by the Panola College Chorale and band.

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It was a day to reflect on what the U.S. Constitution means to America as the road map for how elected officials lead the country. "I did my own little research, as I was in office and around town and I asked several people, a half a dozen or so just kind of randomly, you know what today is? You know how many people told me what it was?  Zero."

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Paddie encouraged the people who attended the celebration, many of them college students to read the Constitution, saying it is a book to guide our public officials.

Constitution trivia was sprinkled throughout Paddie's remarks. "Did you know the word, 'democracy,' does not appear in the Constitution? George Washington and James Madison were the only two presidents to sign it. It took 100 days to frame it, and since it was established in 1791,  it has only been changed 17 times.

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Two of America's founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams didn't sign the Constitution. There were only four million people in the world when the Constitution was written and Philadelphia only had a population of 40,000 when the document was framed.

Paddie ended his speech by urging everyone in the audience to vote on election day, saying never before has the Constitution been such a topic of discussion. He mentioned the Tea Party's influence in bringing back attention to the important freedoms our country is founded on based on the Constitution. And that every patriot in America should celebrate it each year.

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