"Alternative facts and the coming constitutional crisis" by Matt Malone, S.J.

[TexasProgresive]

This is an interesting article by the editor in chief of "America Magazine" which is a Jesuit publication. The one page piece is not particularly religious.

Alternative facts and the coming constitutional crisis
Matt Malone, S.J. January 26, 2017

Casual observers of our friends across the pond like to say that the British don’t have a constitution. That’s not quite right. They do have one, but unlike their American cousins, theirs isn’t spelled out in a single document. Instead, the British constitution is an amalgam of domestic and international law, precedent and tradition, the product of 1,000 years of history.

While the United States does have a single document called “The Constitution,” with an uppercase T and C, the American system also presumes nonconstitutional values and customs that are just as vital, if not more vital to the health of our democracy. The British philosopher Edmund Burke, who was widely read by our well-read founders, tells us why: “Custom is to be regarded with great deference, especially if it be a universal custom,” he wrote, “for there is some general principle operating to produce customs that is a more sure guide than our theories.”

Read more:
http://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/01/26/alternative-facts-and-coming-constitutional-crisis