The Constitution is 216 years old today

[Seneca]

Hailed as the oldest constitution in the world, and still mentioned with reverence by Americans of all backgrounds as an example to the world, just what is the state of its health in these troubled times?

The original document was championed by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in a set of writings known as 'The Federalist Papers'. At first, it did not contain the Bill of Rights, which many today consider the soul of the document. It would be 4 years before they were added on, which would secure its full ratification.

By no means a perfect document - it did after all, sanction slavery and deemed slaves only 3/5ths a person with no rights (in order to appease southern delegates to ratify) - nevertheless, it slowly but surely fulfilled many of the ideals the United States purportedly champions.

The preamble is our true pledge of alleigiance, beginning with "We The People..."

Securing a more perfect union has been our unending birthright. It is why we, the various stripes of progressives and anti-fascists of DU, keep raising hell,and fighting for we, the people.

We.

The people.

Not corporations.

Not political dynasties.

Not PNAC, the NSA, or the CIA.

You and me.

It is a romantic appeal, creating a government which supposedly presides at our pleasure. The consent of the governed, as we learned in civics classes.

And we all know it is not always so. Maybe even less than ever, in the era of John Ashcroft and the 'Patriot Act'.

It is a document oft-cited and sometimes, I suspect, rarely read.

If you have never read it from beginning to end, or have not read it in many years, do so today. Continue to make this a more perfect union, because we have to come home. We have to make sure that we the people is not passed into myth.

It is a living document, but in frail health at the age of 216.

[BeFree]

1. Faith in that Paper of ideas

Is what keeps me going.

The idea embodied in those papers is that the government will not be able to do what it is intending to do these days. It intends to keep the government out of our bedrooms, out of the kitchen and off our yard. It has worked, off and on, only because we, the people, have made sure that the big boys are kept under control. It takes work, but it's well worth the effort, eh?

[tom_paine]

2. Agreed, BeFree

Though I liken the Consittution to being in ICU with tubes coming out of it and bruises all over and LOOK, here comes Cheney skulking into the room with a pillow!

[Seneca]

3. lol

Nice analogy! Scary too. Great avatar!

[Q]

4. Kick

...

[OKNancy]

5. Speaking of the Constitution

Does anyone know of a good website that has a good historical reading on the founders and their intent when putting it together.
I googled, but there is so much I got nuts trying to separate the good from the bad.

[Seneca]

6. try this

http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal9a/constitution.htm

It is the National Archives site, and is a good place to get an overview. :-)

Here is a good link from that page:

http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/constitution_history.html

[blm]

8. Here's another good site

www.americalivefree. org

[OKNancy]

9. Thanks blm and Seneca

I had to go out a while..and couldn't say thanks earlier.

[blm]

12. oops

www.americalivefree.org

[Deja Q]

7. The constitution got ill in the mid-70s, died 1980

After the lates 60s/early 70s when people got tired of speaking out and wanted the cozy life, that's when it got ill.

When Reagan and his cronies took power, that's when it died. "by, of, and for the people" lost its meaning. Corporations started growing and growing in power.

In 1980, corps lost rulings like restrictions on VCRs.

In 2003, corps won rulings to place restrictions on HDTV to prohibit recording its programs via 'broadcast flags'. If you bought a hdtv set even a year ago, it may need to be replaced. And the crossover to MANDATORY HDTV is 2006.

There are thousands of examples andf I'm just too pissed off at this sleazehole of a society to spend hours pointing out examples; most of which we already know anyway.

It's been corporate fascism for quite some time and, let's face it, it's not going to get better. ever.

[eleny]

10. Nice day for Clark to have declared

[Starpass]

11. It got soiled today

I believe it was today that Bush did some re-dedication thing a ma jig speech because this and the other documents have just been brought out in public again after restoration. I thought to myself: this man should not ever be allowed to have these documents as one of his cheap backdrops for his hypocracy.