Carl Jung said "[growth can not occur without struggle and change]" and since its creation, the United States Constitution has indeed grown, but not without the struggles and changes of America. While the framers may have made mistakes, fallen short of their potential, and may have acted hypocritical to their beliefs, they left us with a masterpiece that is in and of itself alive. The Constitution was drafted to protect the "people" of the United States, not only in the framers time, but for all time.
The framers did not take the Constitution lightly, and it was no easy task to draw a document that would make all 13 colonies "states" happy; they could not possibly accomplish all that they had hoped to within their time, but they were genius enough to write it to not only protect itself and the "people" but to enable it to be changed, adapted to new times, and allowed to grow to the social needs of the day. Yale Law School's Akhil Reed Amar, professor of Constitutional Law, believes we should all take a look at the Constitution with "fresh" eyes, that the "conventional Constitution" is not the same as the framers wrote it; we are afforded many more rights that we believe. A video of Amar at the National Constitution Center can be seen here. With every amendment and every referendum we act upon the charge the framers left for us; to build a better country.
I have to mention that even though the Constitution was made to give "we the people" the power of our country, it is self serving to the power of the government. The framers needed a way to control the new country to ensure economic and political security. Congress blatantly wrested power from the people in 1798 with the Alien and Sedition Acts smacking the first amendment in the face by allowing "free speech" unless it was something that those in charge did not want to hear; luckily Jefferson deemed them unconstitutional and repealed them a couple years later, but the point is the government will always serve to protect itself first, it is up to the people to be the watchdogs and check the checks and balances.
Interpretation of the Constitution is debated daily, in forums all over the country but ultimately the Judicial branch has the final say on "what the constitution means" but the check here is "we the people" have a say on "who sits on the bench". The basic command of the Constitution that needs no interpretation is: all people must be treated fairly and equally, with no discrimination. (Irons) The Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the Constitution) clearly show intent that the "people" have the power and the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (property) some day we may even get it right.
I know I have oversimplified all of these issues, but the point of my blog or "rant" is that while the framers may not have delivered all they wanted to, the Constitution is here working for us, all we have to do is read it and apply it when necessary and keep a vigilant eye on those with the power. I am by no means anti-government or a strict originalist, but I do feel that those who are able should watch over those who are unable, and it is in our best interest to share the knowledge and power of this nation so we do not get trapped into the cliche of the empires and crumble because we got greedy.
Lee.
sources:
Akhil Reed Amar, America's Constitution: A Biography. (Random House ,September 13, 2005)
Akhil Reed Amar, For The People: What The Constitution Really Says About Your Rights. (New York, The Free Press, 1998)
John Mack Faragher et al., Out of Many: A History of the American People 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 2006)
Peter Irons, A People's History of the Supreme Court. (Penguin Putnam Inc., New York, 1999)
Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States: Volume one: American Beginnings to Reconstruction (New York, The New Press, 2003)
The National Archives Experience, “The Charters of Freedom”, “The Constitution of the United States”http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution_transcript.html (accessed September 20, 2007)
Google Video, The National Constitution Center, www.constitutioncenter.org, "Akhil Reed Amar" http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1761106669261726811&q=akhil+reed+amar&total=6&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
(accessed October 11, 2007)
