Have you read your country's Constitution?
By Taskr36
@Taskr36 (13963)
United States
February 2, 2011 4:18pm CST
It seems that more and more people in this country are waking up and realizing that their elected officials have basically been wiping their butts with the document that clearly spells out the duties and restrictions on the federal government. The problem is, these people are now being called extremists for actually wanting the government to follow the Constitution. Republicans were recently mocked for insisting that the constitution be read out loud at the start of this year's congress.
Now people are actually looking at questionable bills passed by congress and realizing they violate the constitutional powers and limitations of the federal government. The 10th amendment specifically seems to be the most frequently violated although the 4th comes in as a close second. Some people don't even realize that if the constitution doesn't give the federal government the power to do something it CAN'T DO IT. One person even thought I was insulting them when I said they weren't armed to argue the constitutionality of the healthcare bill, because they hadn't read the constitution.
I know we have international people here and not all countries have a specific constitution, so feel free to respond referencing whether you have read the applicable material that limits or empowers your government. I've been told the UK has several different documents on the issue, but not one constitution.
So the big question is, have you read the Constitution? If not, then why not? Do you simply have faith that your government will follow it without you as a citizen holding them accountable?
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
6 people like this
11 responses
@laglen (19759)
• United States
3 Feb 11
I started reading it in middle school. I have read it repeatedly since then and reference it often. If we are too lazy to pay attention to what the powers that be's, powers actually are, then we get what we deserve. There is a lot of supporting documents to the Constitution that I have not read as completely. But I am getting there. More and more as our government over steps its bounds, we MUST hold them accountable. If they want to be dictators, they should move to a country that supports that form of government. Our Constitutional Republic is not it.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
3 Feb 11
I learned it when I was a student in laws. I have not enough fingers in my hands to count how many constitutions we had since two centuries. However the actual Constitution is 50 years old, quite a record, because the politicians are smarter today : they make changes to the constitution and not change the constitution, and I am unable to say how many changes this constitution had in fifty years. As much as I am sure to live in a democracy, they can change the constitution as they want -- well, not exactly : they need a majority of 75% of deputies and senators to do it in my country --, and I don't understand why your politicians are not doing the same : you have elected them, so you have to trust them during their mandate, and to change them at the end if you are not satisfied. A constitution is not immutable.
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
3 Feb 11
"I don't understand why your politicians are not doing the same"
Because they can't. Our constitution can only be changed by our states. Our congress can suggest amendments to our constitution through legislation, but the amendment must still be approved by 3/4 of our states' governments, through a vote in each state legislature.
So, our constitution is not immutable, but it was intentionally made very difficult to change. In fact, since it was passed with the original ten amendments already on it (the bill of rights), there have only been 17 additional amendments to it in nearly 250 years.
1 person likes this
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
4 Feb 11
Yeh, the thing that makes us unique is that we built our system in reverse. Our federal government was created by our states and is designed to an agent for the states rather than an administrator of the states. Our states retained great power and a unique sovereignty and control over domestic matters. This was designed to leave the federal government with only those duties necessary to nationhood. Our states all even retained their own military forces and even today, have significant land and air forces.
Since it was our states that created our nation, it made sense to design the constitution so that only the states could change it. This was done to prevent the federal government from giving itself more powers.
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
3 Feb 11
I haven't read the whole thing, but one thing I do know is it was never intended to be an "evolving document'!!!
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
3 Feb 11
..but I think more and more folks are realizing the (u.S.) constitution was written to limit the rights of government! But still not enough folks..!
@rogue13xmen13 (14402)
• United States
3 Feb 11
Since my government class in college about five years ago, no, but I know that there are a lot of crazy bills that get passed under the radar, and no one checks to see if it is Constitutional or not. Then again, there are some things in constitution that questionable. What something meant back then, may not apply to our government today. People back then never took into effect illegal immigration, African Americans being freed from slavery, women can vote, over population, the now limited supply of resources, and the emergence of new technology. To compare government back then to government today, there is a world of difference. Many of the things that are going on now, weren't going on back then, and many of the things that we have now, they didn't have back then. I don't think the founding fathers could have predicted what kind of country this would have truly become. You can quote the constitution up and down, but then you will have people who will point the finger at you and say that you are wrong, or you will have people who will say that their views of government do not apply to the reality of what our government is today.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
4 Feb 11
"People back then never took into effect illegal immigration, African Americans being freed from slavery, women can vote, over population, the now limited supply of resources, and the emergence of new technology."
That's why there is an amendment process. They knew that changes would have to be made at some point. They made the process very specific to be sure that the states, not the federal government, would have the power to make those changes. Even so, the basic tenets of the constitution lay out the powers and limitations of the federal government and things like technology and population really don't change that. Also this country really isn't overpopulated at all. The US ranks 178th in population density in the world. Japan literally has 10 TIMES as many people per square mile as we do.
The problem with those people who argue that the constitution doesn't matter is that, were it not for the constitution, THEY wouldn't have the rights that allow them to insult our government and how it's run. Some people will cling to the 1st amendment and then cry that the constitution is outdated or say that someone like Sarah Palin should be punished for saying things they disagree with. They'll complain when someone violates THEIR fourth amendment rights, but insist that the same amendment should be violated against others to protect them.
1 person likes this
@rogue13xmen13 (14402)
• United States
4 Feb 11
I am not saying to disregard the Constitution, because we all need one (I mean look at Egypt and countries that don't have a solid constitution, I know we don't want to be like that), but I think that more Amendments need to be made.
Our constitution does matter, but I know that the Republicans don't take consideration the constitution with the Amendments included. They mostly look at the original Constitution. And yes, many people cling to the First Amendment like it's a security blanket, little knowing what is really behind the First Amendment.
I don't like Sarah Palin because I don't think that she is intelligent, and certainly someone I would never quote. She's too radical for my taste, but I know that she has brought up a few things that people should think about.
This country is a mess right now, but then again, it's a mess because we (The United States people as a whole) made it so. There were so many things that could have prevented this country from getting to the state that it is currently in, and we didn't do what was necessary to prevent this country from getting into this rut. We can get out of it, but like Japan (I know their country was in economic trouble for 10 years), it will take us awhile to get out of whole that we are in, it takes time.
@Destiny007 (5805)
• United States
3 Feb 11
Not only have I read it, I had to pass a mandatory test on the US Constitution before I graduated High School.
I had to pass a test on the Missouri Constitution before I got out of the 8th grade.
That was mandated by Missouri when I was going to school during the 1970's.
From what I have seen on this site and even heard locally that obviously is no longer the case... or a whole lot of people have ADD and just wasn't paying attention.
The schools need to stop teaching all those PC fluff courses and bring back Civics and Government classes.
@LightninStrike (5915)
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
2 Feb 11
I have read my country's constitution...basically because I studied law, so it was a must, hehe. I recommend that everyone reads at least certain parts of it....we should all be aware of our rights, and also our obligations.
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
2 Feb 11
I have read it. In fact, we had to read it in school when I was a kid. I think it's important to reference it whenever a question comes up. I particularly like the new House rule that requires legislators to specify what section of the Constitution applies to the bill they intend to propose in Congress and what gives the government the right to exercise powers and authority needed to put the bill's provisions into action.
I hear the Senate Judiciary Committee just took up studying the Constitutionality of the healthcare bill. Perhaps if they had done that before passing it, we wouldn't have had to wait for a judge to declare it unconstitutional.
@gracelyze23 (103)
• Philippines
3 Feb 11
yes.. i read it in fact we have a subject in school with deals of studying of our constitution..
@fannitia (2167)
• Bulgaria
2 Feb 11
I haven't read the constitution of my country. It has been changed recently and I'm not sure that it's what we need, but this is not an excuse. I should feel ashamed and I'd like to praise you for this topic. It is a must to know the basic law of your country but most people don't care about this. And the worst thing is that the lawmakers themselves don't know the laws.
@preppydezza (309)
• Philippines
3 Feb 11
I read our constitution maybe twice. It is so technical for me so I don't know if I really understand it or not. I don't have faith in my government because most of our political leaders are corrupt. I just pray that everything will turn out good even if they are doing some anomalies. :(
