The
Constitution
Here is where i get to post my views on
the Constitution of the United States. Let's put it this way... the
Constitution was a nice blueprint to run a nation - but it does have problems.
The more amended it gets, the less it is like it is supposed to be.
Freedoms Are Not Absolutes:
i like the concept that humans
have certain inalienable rights. However, there are extenuating circumstances
for everything. Rights seem to be there unless they interfere with the rights
of others. However, this does not apply to societal customs and not
everything is a right.
However, all things come with limitations.
No right is truly absolute. You can't say whatever you want, you can't really
worship any religion you want, and you do not always have the rights to own a
weapon. The extents and limitations of these rights should be at the hands of
the states, not the federal government. The shift to a stronger federal
government has definitely come with a cost.
So, the question then
becomes what is a right and what isn't... It is probably a good idea that the
founders didn't list every possible right they could. However, it was supposed
to be the states that filled in the gaps - not the federal government and the
court system.
That being said, if a city wants to ban handguns (or
something) in public i see no problem with that - as it is really an issue of
public safety. As long as the citizens are allowed to possess any type of
firearms - that is ok with me.
A Written Constitution is a bit
messy:
One of the problems the US has is adding thing to the constitution
that really don't need to be there. The thing off of the top of my head is
Prohibition. Then they had another amendment to say a previous amendment was
wrong. i know not everything can be added as an amendment (and they have some
safeguards to prevent that), but really most of the amendments seem extraneous
to me. The problem is that if you codify something you open up a whole world of
abuse. Another huge problem is how the court system has aided the federal
government in spreading its influence. Some of the later amendments could have
been accomplished without being added to the Constitution.
Summary:
Being as i largely lost what i was going to say, i
guess i should sum it up...
* The Constitution is a basic framework, but one
that is somewhat dated - it is a good start, but not everything.
* No right
is an absolute - there are always mitigating factors. It is not the
government's responsibility to "create" new rights that do not really exist - ie
marriage, abortion, etc. Therefore, these issues are truly not
Constitutional in nature.
* Some of the concepts may need to be updated,
and the judicial branch really should be challenged more than it has.
* The
"Line Item Veto" does not violate separation of powers - it actually better
helps check the congress.
Original Post Date: 05/01/11
No comments:
Post a Comment