The Rock That is the Constitution

What a 220-year-old piece of paper knows, and why it is our best friend.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form…”

To understand the Constitution, we need to understand why it was written. The Founding Fathers were not dumb. In fact, they were, by far, some of the most intelligent men of their time—they knew that change was not only a necessity, but also an inevitability. The Declaration of Independence says that we have certain rights. These rights are not privileges; they are guarantees. Everyone has them, and if they don’t, that is a big problem. But what exactly are these rights? And when they are infringed upon, what must be done, and by whom? These questions—and their answers—are the central tenets that our country rests on.

The Constitution is the law of the land, a set of rules by which the government and the people must follow. The Constitution is also the list of rights that the Declaration makes mention to. In fact, the original document entails amendments one through ten, known as the Bill of Rights.

Every state in the Union must ratify the Constitution, meaning they must agree to the proposals it makes. Each state must recognize the rights that are guaranteed to every American citizen under the document, and must do everything within its power to protect those rights.

What is the purpose of our government? To guarantee that our rights as American citizens are not infringed upon by any party at any time for any reason. That is the duty that each state swears to when they join the Union, and that is the duty of the federal government.

Now that we understand it a little better, let us look at the issues raised by my esteemed colleague, and I will quote them and address them an order that I see fit.

“When it does what you want, it's swell. When it doesn't people conjure up "Baaah, what does a 220-odd year old piece of paper know." Frankly, I am tired of the constitution.”

What is so vital to survival that would necessitate a violation of another person’s rights? Quite frankly, I hold my rights very dearly, and I would be very upset if they were deemed inconsequential and then promptly overstepped.

“The constitution was written by a man who expected that the image of America would be a bunch of small farms spread over a bunch of land for hundreds of years, and would prosper as a peaceful nation.”

The Constitution was written to enumerate the rights that the people expected to be protected by the law. The three branches of government are the mechanism of that defense, your rake, so to speak. The document itself is like the blueprint of the rake, and directions on where/how to use it. It tells us which end to use, that we shouldn’t rake the ceiling, and how to care for it. That was the image the Founding Fathers had, a functional and flexible government, ready and willing to morph as the people grew. They were fully aware of the rapidity of change over time. Furthermore, the mere existence of the elastic clause is solid proof that they understood the flow of time and advancement, and the 17 additional amendments display vividly that it is a feasible option to modify the document as needed.

The problem with our government is not the principals it was founded upon; it is the government machine itself. The bureaucracy becomes more corrupt and piggish as the citizenry becomes more ignorant and lazy (in regards to civic duty.) Being a politician used to be an honorable occupation; the people looked up to the men who fought for them in the federal government. Now, the best way to gain political prowess is to be a lowly bootlicker. How embarrassing! The strength and backbone of our leaders has all but disappeared. Now they play race politics, begging and stealing votes, and making decisions based on how popular they are, not if they are the right decision. Granted, this is a democracy, so popularity is the name of the game, but I’m sure the people have begun getting tired of the nonsense—I know I am—but lack the courage to make a change. Change is a scary thing.

Wire-tapping.
What’s mine is mine, and my privacy is very important to me. To suggest that it’s OK to invade someone’s privacy is one-step closer to warrant-less searches of home and property. "If you have nothing to hide, then it can't hurt you;” “If you don’t let us search your house, it’ll make you look guilty;” the typical lame copouts. You know who else used them? Witch-hunters. And McCarthy. Next step: Big Brother!

The instant the government has the power to invade a person’s privacy without probable cause is the instant that our system of government and our country becomes a traitor to its own people.

But the issue here is not if people care, for they certainly do; the issue is that the executive branch overstepped their constitutional authority in covertly wiretapping people. There are procedures laid down for a reason, they’re called checks and balances for a reason, and I’m sure we can all appreciate that reason.

Don’t know what it is? It’s to prevent the inevitable breakdown into tyranny. Tyranny is a thing to despise. If one man, or a small group of men, controls the entire government, who’s to stop them from committing any atrocity they please? The purpose of a democracy is to draw from the collective intelligence pool to choose the best courses of action possible, and to keep the interests of the people in mind when making policy. What we have today is a failure of our system of government to uphold the ideals of the people, not a failure of ideals.