Our Constitution

This isn't going to be a rant on gun control, but just food for thought about the American Constitution.

Growing up in a small town I have always known the Constitution to be this static and hard-to-develop document that this country was founded on. It outlines the values of the framers that created it, and the people that have come after them and amended it. This post is about why the Constitution has remained this divine piece of paper that every upstanding citizen lives their life by, and if we should question its legitimacy. 

Source: www.ccsouthfla.org

The American Constitution was originally written over 200 years ago by slave owners, majority of whom thought that "all [white, property owning] men are created equal." So why has this 200-year-old document stayed so significant? It has historical meaning to many, of course. It's iconic to most Americans and is the symbol of freedom and liberty. 

Over time, this symbolic document has evolved and changed to adapt to new values; outlawing slavery, universal suffrage, etc. Why then, do we expect any change to be increasingly difficult? In this heated political climate that is our government and most of our lives, the polarity between views is evident. As we have seen in many governmental challenges, compromises rarely come to the table, and if they do it's after much time and money spent by each side trying to get their way. 

Why is it so challenging to change the Constitution? It's happened before right? The bill of rights and superseding amendments are all changes made to the original Constitution. But one of the elements of the Constitution, Article V, has really put a crutch into the change process. It states, among other things, that any changes require a 2/3 approval by the House of Representatives. This basically puts a veto into the hands of the minority. [See where I'm going with this?] Changes to the constitution are incredibly difficult, which may or may not have been the intention of the Framers. 

Now, I'm not a scholar of political science, so I am in no position to suggest changes to the Constitution. This is merely a chance for people to think about why we adhere to this document that may or may not be for the good of everyone it affects. As I stated before, growing up I saw the Constitution as something set in stone. But the intention of the Framers was to make it a fluid and ever-evolving document. Different times come for different measures. It started out with slavery not addressed, but then the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments fixed all that. 

Can you just consider, just for a moment, that a change may be coming? It's the Constitution; it's not biblical, divine or godly. It doesn't need to be treated as anything of the sort. Open up your minds and consider alternatives to the present.

Note: I do not believe guns should be banned. For one particular reason, criminals don't care if something is illegal; they're going to do it anyway. However, I do believe more regulations need to be put into place to prevent mass shootings like what happened at Columbine and Newtown.

Thanks for reading.