Imagine how difficult life would be today if, instead of tapping a cellphone to call friends or pay bills, we still had to get out pen and paper, write and mail a letter or check; or dial “the operator” to connect us to “long distance;” or drive to the “telegraph office” to send a “telegram.”
Yet, much of the Constitution governing life in 21st century America was written over 238 years ago – in 1787 – with the knowledge, experience and mindset of even earlier times, when The Rich owned slaves and women were little more than plow-pulling property.
Since 1787, over 10,000 constitutional amendments have been proposed, but only twenty-seven (27) have been adopted. Depending on one’s perspective, the current Constitution has “stood the test of time” or “made time stand still.”
Of course, our Founders rightfully believed that changing the Constitution should not be as easy as changing their wigs and silk stockings. They decreed (in Article V) that the only ways to amend it are (a) by a Constitutional Convention a la the first one, or (b) have Congress craft amendments and submit them for a decision by voters in three-quarters of the states. For most of the Constitution’s history, “voters” didn’t include women, Black Americans, Indigenous Peoples or anyone easily intimidated by a few 2nd Amendment death threats.
But one need only watch The News – or Congress in inaction – to appreciate the chaos that either approach to amending the Constitution would create if attempted now. Asking Congress to draft amendments to submit to voters would overwhelm an institution that often resembles a middle school cafeteria at lunchtime. Picking delegates and holding a large live Convention could even be dangerous, given our increasingly divisive and violent political climate, the likes of which has seldom been seen since the Battle of Gettysburg.
Thus, for better or worse, “amending” the Constitution has been largely left to (drum-roll, please) the Supreme Court.
Yes, for all practical purposes the Supreme Court (not We The People) decides what Rights and Obligations we have/don’t have under the Constitution, such as the Right to carry guns in public and the Obligation to carry pregnancies to term. And though “corporation” nowhere appears in the Constitution, the Supremes have decided that corporations are people, too, with their own rights, dreams and feelings.
Thus, many Constitutional disputes are appealed to the Supreme Court every year. Though time-consuming, it’s cheaper and easier to get five justices to agree (or not) to change (or not) the meaning of the Constitution’s words than to have convention delegates argue and decide to change (or not) the actual words themselves. After all, busy 21st century Americans can’t just drop everything, travel hundreds of miles to sit for weeks and argue over how the country could work better than it does. So, let the Supremes decide.
Or: Hold a Constitutional Convention via Zoom!
Think about it: With modern technology, every registered voter could be a delegate from the comfort of home, debating and voting on whether and how to improve our governing document. Why not put our social media skills to good use? Think: World Wrestling Entertainment, with rules enforced by AI.
Crazy? Yeah, maybe. But a Zoom convention could engage the entire nation in its own rebirth by majority rule, perhaps even allowing the “red” states to secede without bloodshed, with sincere apologies for the hammering their kind took at Gettysburg.
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