Is the Constitution Still Relevant Today?

Wonderful thing about the internet: it’s never been easier to find someone who disagrees with you.  I find that to be valuable and desirable.   When we only surround ourselves with people of like mind, we become rather narrow-minded.  Once in a while I encounter a question or comment that forces me to really challenge my presuppositions and think things through to remind myself why I hold what I consider to be some of my core beliefs.

While this isn’t exactly the question, word for word, I think this is essentially the spirit of it:  Why should we still be bound by the Constitution today; shouldn’t we be able to change our government as we see fit; what was really so extraordinary about these guys who authored the document 200+ years ago?

Essentially, I think a way to summarize it is: Why is the Constitution still relevant today?

I must say, I had a Joe Dirt moment when I first encountered this question; I’m thinking, “Why does the Pope wear a funny hat?  Why does a bear shit in the woods?  Why’s the sky blue?  Why are titties good?”  The answer to some questions is "Just because."

Saying that something is, just because it is, has never been a good enough answer for me and I owe a better answer than that to anyone else.  This question, which may seem rather simple, requires a quite complex response in order to adequately answer.

“The US Constitution is the oldest written national constitution still in use today.  For over 200 years it has stood at the center of American political life and been celebrated by people from all walks of life and across the political spectrum.” – The Constitution Project

The US Constitution is a work of art; it is a masterpiece.  It has endured because of the wisdom of its crafters and, amazingly, there has yet to be a procedural situation it has failed to adequately address.  Do I consider it as ‘inspired’ or of ‘divine’ origin?  No, but it’s pretty damn close.

To begin to understand how the founders were qualified to draft such a document, you must consider not only the colonization of North America and our revolution, but also feudal England, the Magna Carta, and other significant events even further back in history.  You see, the principles articulated in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights were nothing new.  In fact, it had for some time been recognized that human beings are endowed with natural rights; this has not changed in millennia.  Our founders were clearly educated in these principles, which sowed the seeds of revolution and shaped the writings that eventually culminated in the drafting of our constitution.

The American Revolution also just happened to be rather unique.  As opposed to most revolutions before and since, ours was not a revolution of the ‘have-nots’ but rather a revolution of the middle and upper class.  Rather than descending into revolt over perceived economic injustices, our forefathers choose to take a stand and demand that they not be taxed unjustly, that they have a representative system of government, and maybe most importantly, that their natural rights be protected from violation at the hands of the state.

Our forefathers had experience, up close and personal, living under tyranny.  They also had a pretty good perspective about the conditions that are favorable in culturing a tyranny.  Great lengths were taken to craft a foundation of limited government, with checks and balances, which could logically never lead to a tyrannical centralized government, if the rules were followed.  The fact that the Constitution has endured to this day, despite the changes in our society, technological developments and other significant factors, is a testament to the wisdom contained within the document.  Many of the problems we are experiencing today (economy, foreign policy, etc.) could be directly tied to failures in following our nation’s instruction manual.

There’s quite a bit more I’d like to expand upon, but it’s late and I’m extremely short on time these days.  I hope to continue this in my next posting, which I’d like to get to in the next few days.

© the stiff lizard