A Living, Breathing Document

A few visitors to this blog seem to think that they know all there is to know about the United States Constitution. Just let me start by reminding you right-wing dittoheads that I, like most enlightened, progressive-minded people, actually went to a university and got an education. While you were trying desperately to memorize the line: "Would you like fries with that?", I was majoring in Constitutional Law, Gender Studies, and Interpretive Clog Dancing at UC Berkeley. So excuse me if I don't fall all over myself in total awe of your snotty little pearls of wisdom.
The fact is, even the most brilliant minds in the nation don't know what the Constitution really means. It's all metaphorical, like the Bible. That's why Al Gore, in his infinite wisdom, referred to it as a "living, breathing document", written by a bunch of white slaveowners in powdered wigs that had no idea of what life would be like in 2003. Thankfully, we have liberal justices to decipher and translate the document's true meaning according to the times we live in. If strict-constructionists had their way, blacks would still be slaves, women would have no say in government, and poor holocaust survivors would be denied their right to vote in Florida.
Oh wait - it's already that way. Thanks Dubya!

Comments

[Ron]

Apparently all that education you received didn’t leave any room in your head for common.

If the constitution is a living breathing document like you say it is there would be no reason for the amendment process. The founders left us with a way to change the constitution and they warned us of judges having too much power.

If the supreme law of this land can be made to mean whatever we want it to mean then there is no point in having this law. All the founder needed to do was hand a judge a blank piece of paper. Here you go. Write whatever seems right for today.

It was strict constitutionalist who freed the slaves and gave woman the right to vote. How do I know that? Because they didn’t appoint judges to make up law – they amended the constitution. They did it constitutionally. They didn’t appoint judges as the supreme rulers of the nation.

The constitution gives us the balance of powers between the 3 branches of government. Your method of achieving your agenda upsets the balance of power. We cease having a government by the people, for the people and become a government of a few people in robes.

Your method of changing the constitution is dangerous. Some day the court may be more conservative. Will you think it is right if they read between the lines and add what they think the country needs today? With the stroke of a pen a conservative court could undo something you fought all your life for. You may feel safe today that conservatives will not do this. They may learn from your example and become activist.

Think again before you piss on the constitution just to get your agenda passed. No matter how noble the cause there are better ways to do it. There are right ways to do it. Learn from the strict constitutionalist of the past that made great changes that are lasting changes. They respected the constitution and amended it to make it better.

[Al]

An education on Constitutional Law at UC Berkeley is somewhat like an eductation on Capitalism at Bejing University.

If strict constructionsts had their way, the 14th and 15th Amendments would have elimitated all doubts about racial equality in the United States and the Equal Rights Amendment would have passed because the rights of the constitution that were intended originally only for men would have needed to be extended without ambiguity that has been generated by judicial fiat.

[Greg]

Actually in 1875, Congress — by majority vote — banned all racial segregation, but in 1882, the unelected Supreme Court struck down that anti-segregation law; in 1896, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its pro-segregation position; but in 1954, the Court finally reversed itself and struck down segregation - eighty years after “We The People” had abolished segregation. As Justice Scalia says:
"Don't think the originalist interpretation constrains you. To the contrary, my [originalist] Constitution is a very flexible Constitution. You want a right to abortion? Create it the way all rights are created in a democracy: pass a law. The death penalty? Pass a law. That's flexibility." He also points out that it is just the opposite with "living constitution" judges:
"They want the whole country to do it their way, from coast to coast. They want to drive one issue after another off the stage of political debate."
It's that simple folks. If something's a constitutional right, it should say it in the constitution. If something needs to be added, you pass an amendment (which is why the courts correctly required a constitutional amendment to start federal income tax). If the constitution is silent, then the judges should be silent. For if they are not bound by what the consitution actually says, who is to stop them? Seems pretty simple to me.

[John Mallernee]

OOOH! I am Soooo impressed that the writer of this "Living, Breathing Document" diatribe paid tens of thousands of dollars for what I got for little of nothing! So enlightened is this writer, that she/he apparently doesn't even know the origin of the "living, breathing document" propaganda. The writer refers to the "infinite wisdom" of "Al Gore" as the source of this quote.

Dear writer, I hate to tell you but what you paid so dearly for is indoctrination into a leftist propaganda view. Do you ever question what you were taught? Do you ever study the opposite views? Or do you think that being spoon feed information by people you have been told are superior makes you better than those who disagree with you? Indeed, your rant shows the depth of your close minded ignorance.

I may have never gone to UC Berkeley - thank God - but I bet I have read more about what you were taught and - even more important - the sources of the beliefs you were taught, than you have. On top of that, I have spent an equal amount of time & energy studying the other views.

Yea, I bet that "interpretive clog dancing" REALLY broaden your world view.

This brings me to the crux of leftist “intellectuals”. You folks are so busy "interpreting" you don't hear or speak for your self - much less dare to live independently and question the fish bowl you live in. You think you are THE educated and superior, and that alone shows the depth of your morass.

So be proud of your UCB papers - the illusion of knowledge can be comforting. As for me, I prefer the hundreds of books (not to mention other sources) I have searched thru seeking obscure history & alternate viewpoints, as well as the conventional wisdom, politically correct and so-called "progressive" socialist point of view. I always backtrack with the question "How did we get here?", seeking the source of each line of thought to see what holds water and what leaks like a sieve.

Two things I have learned: No pure ideology has all of the answers & every solution creates new problems.

[John Mallernee]

PS - saying the Bible is purely metaphorical shows the depth of your ignorance in the area of religion, as well. I question whether you ever read more than a line or two, much less the full bible.

And, yes, I have studied religions - past & present - as well as differences in factions, denominations and "cults" in depth. I hesitate to use the word "cult" because, in its strictest definition, Christianity is a cult to those who don't believe in the divinity of Jesus. Chew on that for a while.

[Leon Delano, III]

In reading your comments, I feel sad for you. Your life must be miserable. I know most liberals are miserable. This misery causes them to behave like those miserable busy-bodies we all knew growing up. They want to take my money, take my guns, take my property, and take my liberty.
You will ultimately lose as the communists and socialists have lost. Don't think we don't know that your environmentalism is just a new form of those failed philosophies.
Hey, I don't know your age, but you watch, Bush will be revered as a great president in our lifetime. That will be such a hoot. LOL