Do you think Americans are too devoted to the constitution?

Question

I mean, it was a good idea and all... I just think we should be more flexible with it, people seem to be completely closed off to the idea of change.
Maybe this is a good thing though, maybe the changes resulting in more leniency would be for the worse.
I do think though, that we should open out minds a bit.

I'm fully prepared to the plethora of insults sure to come my way on this one, so fire away! :-)

P.S. The insults are just going to show stupidity, so feel free to allow me to disregard you. (No offense meant to people who wouldn't merely post an insulting message, that was directed solely at those who would)

"If we don't agree with you we are stupid!"

No... If you don't agree with me then you have a different opinion. That simple.

Like I think I said before, I DO understand the need to it to be difficult for changes to be made, we do stupid things and need to protect ourselves from ourselves :-)
Somebody said something abou tonly a few on the amendments being followed, such as the one on guns. People use this as their defense, saying if the constitution says it, it is the word of god (maybe in different wording, but that's the essence of it).

I know I didn't explain myself very well, and I'm sorry about that, but I seem to do that often...

When I get my ideas more organized I will bring this back up, but mainly right now I was looking for input from others.

Answer 1

obviously you are in the minority of americans who actually know what is in the constitution and could probably recite it verbatim. i think it is great that you do! it is also great that you are prepared to consider its meaning and history. perhaps there could be changes but you will have to study, organise your thoughts and maybe become a politicion to accomplish much. what would you change, add or delete. i am extremely interested in your answer to this as i am australian and had to learn the american constitution as an "ideal"

Answer 2

The consitution was and still is the most dynamic document ever formulated to set the framework for our governmental system. When adhered to, all the proper checks and balances are there to assure no one branch of government will gain too much power, and part of its genius is it's fluidity. The founders realized they couldn't think of everything, so they made it in such a way that it could continually be analyzed, interpreted, and when needed, adjusted.

There's nothing close-minded about following the best model, and ours still is superior to anything else out there.

I think the ideology behind calling the Constitution outdated (particularly borne out by our courts attempting to cite laws from other countries in their decisions--why this doesn't automatically disqualify their rulings when doing this I'll never know) frankly lies in its foundations in Theistic and Judeo/Christian thinking. Since these are both under intense attack these days, it only makes sense that institutions which rely on these things would be seen as inadequate as well.

Answer 3

I don't think we are committed enough to the constitution. The thing to remember is we live in a relatively bubble like society where most Americans are fairly disconnected from the cause and effect of different laws. The example above (Clinton Guns) is a great example.

If we were more devoted to the constitution there would be no such thing as the PATRIOT Act.

Answer 4

I don't think we are devoted enough, we have become such a divided nation amongst ourselves, yet we want peace with nations. I think we have asked for to much and forgotten the true meaning of living, family values, holidays. The constitution is our foundation for decisions, rights and freedoms. I think the nation has gone soft by giving in to so many ridiculous demands just because they can use their 'constitutional right'. and rights have been abused for selfish reasons. All to make ppl sleep better at night. God for ex. has been around since FOREVER. and there is not a single person on the entire earth, regardless of race or religion, that has not heard the name God, used the name, or knows the only reference to his name. Even if you disagree or "do not believe in God", he is still somewhere in a persons vocabulary. So why there would be any doubt of God's existance or the need for his presence in anyones life to me is unthinkable. Everyone is trying to take God out of the picture and the constitution. and those 2 things alone are the glue for us as a nation. Discipline has been lost because no one has stayed true to our constitution. We need to return to where it began. Devotion to the constitution not burry it.

Answer 5

"...Too devoted to the constitution?..." Which Americans are you talking about?

Flexible? Leniency? Which parts of the Constitution should be more flexible than they already are? Which parts of the Constitution should be more lenient than they already are?

"... Closed off to the idea of change. ..." I'm not at all closed-minded about amending the Constitution. That's what change means, you know: amend. If you want to change the Constitution, amend it. And I have lots of idea for constitutional amendments: do away with the electoral college; repeal and replace the 14th amendment; elect U.S. Senators by equally-populated districts rather than states; many others.

I'm not out to insult you. I just wish you would explain what the heck you're talking about!

Answer 6

I gave 10 years of my life to defend this document from people like Bush. I believe that the Consitution is one of the greatest documents ever written. I believe in the ideas that it represents. I enjoy the Freedoms it gives me. But if you allowed people to change it on a whim, Bush and his puppeteers would have already done so. As is, he's already trying to get around it. He's already made his feelings known about it. He's doing all he can to circumvent it. I just wish more and more service members would read it. The officer I work for, gives everyone who works for him a copy of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights when he gets to his new command. It's to remind us of what we're fighting for and why men and women have died for this country. To sit there and want to change it willy-nilly will be a slap in the face and an insult to all those who have bled for the ideals set forth.

Answer 7

If the founding fathers meant for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to be changed on a whim, they wouldn't have written it. The Constitution is not a document decided on by democracy or popular opinion. Obviously interpretations of it can change with society but we have to be very cautious and selective with those changes.

Answer 8

I think the Constitution is pretty flexible as it currently stands. It was intentionally written in slightly ambiguous terms, which adds to its flexibility.

That's why we have the court system: to *interpret* the constitution and law. That means there are many ways to understand the same thing.

I think we currently are somewhat flexible...there is never any one single answer (thus creating our at times ridiculously complicated court system).

There's always more room if better ideas come along though, I think.

Answer 9

No, the constitution lays the framework for all else. If we could simply disregard it this nation would quickly turn into a autocracy. Remember the Clinton Gun Ban? Without the Second Amendment that Gun Ban would be all guns, and forever. Shortly after, Clinton is leader for life.

Answer 10

Devoted to the Constitution? are you kidding? The only time the constitution is mentioned is either the 1st or 2nd ammendments, and somehow abortion is written in there in invisable ink, and how Bush is trampling the constitution. If this country is so far from the constitution, and what the found fathers envisioned its not even funny