The United States constitution is broken and should not be reclaimed

[rommelrommel]

One civil war isn’t bad so far as long running countries go. And the right side won, which is a plus.

 

[nickqt]

One civil war isn’t bad so far as long running countries go. And the right side won, which is a plus.

The civil war has been ongoing since before the country won independence. At the time of the Revolution, you had Loyalists vs. Patriots. The first government was via the Articles of Confederation, which was supposed to be amended with a constitutional convention and then got "thrown out". You could make an argument that it was a coup. While the current Constitution was being debated and voted upon, there were Federalists vs. Antifederalists...there's a reason why historians distinguish between the "Founding Fathers" and the "Framers of the Constitution".

You can think of US history as one long civil war with multiple phases, some cold, some cool, and some hot.

Here's a relatively short read on one interpretation of the history.

Phases of the American Civil War

A blog about science, technology, science fiction, books, and the future.

davidbrin.blogspot.com

 

[Lezunto]

Great for white people.

Great for White men.

 

[ivwshane]

The articles main point seems to be that the constitution doesn’t work because of how it’s been interpreted. How would that be any different in any other form of government? Loose or corrupt interpretation of the law will always happen because man himself is corruptible. Like the Bible or any religion, it’s always held hostage by those with power who do the interpreting.

The constitution hasn’t failed because it’s inadequate, it’s failed because we’ve elected people that have corrupted it.

 

[fskimospy]

The presence or absence of a constitution isn’t the important thing. After all look at the UK vs. North Korea. That being said the constitution of the US has two major flaws:

1) it is too hard to amend, at this point it is essentially impossible.

2) it mandates a presidential system of government, which is a bad system.

 

[Moonbeam]

I wonder if anyone here knows about the notion of a Singularity and whether they think it has any relevance to constitutional government.

 

[IronWing]

So Americans are finally noticing that document is not perfect, and desperately needs fixing? It was a bad design from the start. What's curious to me is why it's been so over-venerated. Is it just because it was written in flowery poetic language?

It’s sort of like the Magna Carta, a magnificent step forward if you were a baron, not so much for the average schmuck.

 

[ivwshane]

There are at least two issues that explain how we got to where we are now.

The first and foremost, imo, is the law that capped the total number of representatives to 435. As time and population has increased the problem has only gotten worse. People feel less represented and therefore only those most interested are engaged and they typically represent the extremes of the public opinion.

Second is the filibuster. A rule that can be removed anytime that has stifled bipartisanship and has weaponized minority rule which has had a huge impact from what legislation gets passed to stacking the court with judges from presidents who have been elected with a minority of the people.

The electoral college would be the other issue mainly because it failed to do what it was intended to do which was to keep a person like trump from holding office.

Fix those two things and a lot of things will fix themselves.

 

[Greenman]

Say it as a mnemomic "AAAAAAAA..."

https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/zimbabwe-population

Countries with Constitutions 2025

worldpopulationreview.com

I never really thought about, just responded fskimospys post, he's generally reliable.

 

[Brainonska511]

I never really thought about, just responded fskimospys post, he's generally reliable.

It seems like you're dodging the question at the heart of fskimospys post: If the US Constitution is so great, why is it not replicated by others? Or even imposed on others when we set up governments?

 

[rommelrommel]

I never really thought about, just responded fskimospys post, he's generally reliable.

It seemed pretty obvious that he was talking about the content of the constitution.

 

[HomerJS]

I’m going to circle back and read the articles but I think one of the more important fixes is ending partisan gerrymandering. That will go a long way towards real representation

The ending of Roe highlights this. One of the reddest states just voted to keep Roe by 18 points. Why? Because the vote was statewide. If left up to the gerrymandered district representatives Roe in Kansas would have ended.

 

[theeedude]

US Constitution has already caused one Civil War and is on course to cause another. Connecticut Compromise in particular was very poorly thought out for the long run.

 

[K1052]

I’m going to circle back and read the articles but I think one of the more important fixes is ending partisan gerrymandering. That will go a long way towards real representation

The ending of Roe highlights this. One of the reddest states just voted to keep Roe by 18 points. Why? Because the vote was statewide. If left up to the gerrymandered district representatives Roe in Kansas would have ended.

Sure but you can't do this without packing SCOTUS first. Or anything else really.

 

[NTMBK]

If the majority of the people think your constitution is dumb, then replace it. Government only has the authority that the people grant it.

 

[brandonbull]

The constant litmus testing in the court systems of the USA of proposed legislation or lawsuits, etc. against the 200+ year old constitution created by (and arguably for) rich white men at a time when slavery was legal (and the founders "owned" slaves) and women could not vote, is a huge problem for US.

This is a really good essay published in the New York Times a few days ago explaining this in detail, written by law professors at Harvard and Yale. This link should work for 14 days, i.e. through Saturday, Septemter 3:

Opinion | The Constitution Is Broken and Should Not Be Reclaimed (Published 2022)

Liberals need to radically change the rules of our politics.

www.nytimes.com

The authors propose several ways to backdoor the foundation of our republic democracy. Basically, they outline how liberals have embarked on a several decades long crusade to change our country and society, but the Constitution has been a thorn in the side of the radicals. The Progressheviks are growing impatient with their progress and are becoming much more violent towards and contemptuous of anyone and anything not inline with their NWO. This board is a prime example of the total lack humanity in regards to the opinions of others. Express an opinion different than that of the Progresshevik Church and you get all sorts of wonderful and insightful comments back. It's entertaining to see the hate posted because it truly come from the heart but the origination of that hatred can't be articulated with any reasonable evidence.

This article isn't surprising by Dr. Ryan D. Doerfler because this isn't his first rodeo into calling for radical change to our legal system as a means to a bigger end. My opinion is not inline with his.

 

[MrSquished]

The constitution is destroying the country at this point, partly due to inherent flaws in it, and partly because you have one of two major parties that mostly does not give a shit about morals, ethics or humanity. And the constitution helped create the two party system, so it's all a big fucked up shit-circle.

 

[Pohemi]

...<insert nonsensical bullshit based on feels here>...

Keep up the projection and thanks for the laugh, hypocrite.

 

[zinfamous]

I would counter that the most successful country on the planet is the only one with a constitution.

This sentence that you wrote doesn't even say anything. It's a string of words put together that don't resemble an actual thing anywhere.

 

[Fenixgoon]

I would counter that the most successful country on the planet is the only one with a constitution.

By what measure?
Health? Education? Income inequality? Maternal mortality? COVID deaths? Number of people incarcerated? Tonnage of bombs dropped on people?

 

[Captante]

So Americans are finally noticing that document is not perfect, and desperately needs fixing? It was a bad design from the start. What's curious to me is why it's been so over-venerated. Is it just because it was written in flowery poetic language?

For the same reason people venerate the "Magna-Carta" etc... because it was a revolutionary step in the direction of protecting human rights.

Obviously we now live in a world that would be "unrecognizable" to the founding fathers, so although the Constitutions key principles are still as relevant now as they were in the 1700's the actual language of the document needs to be updated to reflect today desperately.

 

[Captante]

Tonnage of bombs dropped on people?

Absolutely! Also in war "profit" .... we're the 20th century's IRL Ferengi.



The difference in how I felt about America when I was a kid vs now is night and day .... I used to love this country and I believed the lies we were taught in school because I didn't know any better.

There ARE a lot worse places to live on this world then Connecticut USA and I'm 100% aware of that fact.... however there are PLENTY of better places too... like nearly every other first-world country!