Blog #41 – Is the Constitution Still Relevant Today?
“Every word of a constitution is the difference between power and freedom.”- James Madison
Since we’re studying the Constitution in the next week or two, I wanted to look at places where you might find this document, written over 225 years ago, still relevant in your lives.
As you know, the Constitution is broken up into several articles which describe the powers of each of the branches of our federal government – legislative (Article 1), executive (Article 2), and judicial (Article 3). The document is further broken down to amend some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, like the economic, social and political relationships between the states (Article 4), the amendment process (Article 5), supremacy of the Constitution over state and local laws (Article 6), and the process by which this framework document would be ratified after the conclusion of the convention in Philadelphia in 1787 (Article 7).
One of the main criticisms of the Constitution, when it was originally written, was that it did not contain a list of accumulated civil rights that each American has, and so quickly the Bill of Rights was added as a further bulwark to prevent abuses. The first ten Amendments to the Constitution contain many of our essential rights, like the freedom of speech, religion and press; the right to bear arms; right to privacy and to be free of unreasonable search and seizure; a speedy trial by jury of our peers; due process; prevention of excessive fines and punishments; and then rights reserved to the states and individual.
Since 1790, there have been 17 additional Amendments passed to further clarify our rights, provide additional guarantees to our liberties, or to make amends for those left out by the original document and the Bill of Rights. Some of these include the right for women and African-Americans to vote, the failed attempt at Prohibition, lowering the voting age, term restrictions for the President, income taxes, and direct election of U.S. Senators.
But where do we see the Constitution in action? Just about everywhere you see it in action, though you may not realize it. In the separation of state, local and federal powers, you see the concept of federalism. For instance, different levels of government may have paid for road repairs – a big source of frustration in Michigan. The presidential election coming up in November is mandated by the Constitution, yet there’s nothing in there about political parties or the billions being collected and spent by both groups and their supporters. A Supreme Court case in 2010, Citizens United v. FEC, allowed for the unlimited, record-breaking spending that we’re seeing in this year’s election cycle. In addition, the right to vote is guaranteed by the 15th and 19th Amendments, but some states are trying to make it more difficult for people to vote in the name of voter fraud. State supreme courts have been deciding the legality of these ID voting laws as we speak.
The current health care act, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) is being challenged in the Supreme Court on Constitutional issues – how much power should be allowed by the federal government. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-considers-main-constitutional-question-in-health-care-law/2012/03/26/gIQAkyKWdS_story.html
Another issue was whether or not children born in the United States are actually citizens if they are born of parents who are here illegally. http://constitutionalprogressives.org/the-constitutional-a-todays-issues/79-born-under-the-constitution-why-recent-attacks-on-birthright-citizenship-are-unfounded These so-called “anchor babies” have come under attack by conservative critics who question the legality of the 14th Amendment (1868) which was originally passed to ensure citizenship and equal protection under the law for freed slaves after the Civil War.
What does “general welfare” mean in the preamble and in Article 1, Section 8? Does it mean that the government helps individuals who are down on their luck? Is the government going beyond its Constitutional powers by doing so? Does Social Security violate the Constitution? Former House of Representative and presidential candidate Ron Paul thinks so even though the Supreme Court has approved of Social Security in 1937 (Helvering v. Davis). http://www.nolanchart.com/article8669-ron-paul-schools-chris-wallace-on-the-constitution.html If Social Security is to be considered unconstitutional, then what other kinds of spending programs also go beyond the limits of our government’s powers? The American military? Welfare? Medicaid? Even some parts of the government itself?
What these arguments really boil down to are whether you interpret the Constitution as is or you try to infer what it could mean today (or what the Founders had originally intended)? The first concept, as is, is called strict interpretation. The latter concept, inferring, is called loose interpretation. For instance, the 2nd Amendment states that our right to bear arms is protected. But by today’s standards, are any and all gun laws unconstitutional? What about the types of guns today? It’s hard to imagine Alexander Hamilton or James Madison envisioning a .50 caliber machine gun that could cut cars in half and them saying that it’s o.k. to own one.
This current law professor at Rutgers University believes that some of our current governmental problems can be solved by some amendments: http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2011/08/constitutional_amendments_need.html
Take a moment or two to review some of the links included here to discuss where you think the Constitution is still relevant today. If you come up with another idea, please include some links to sources that you find / use. Also, discuss this topic with your parents and see what they come up.
Due Friday, October 12 by class time. 300 words minimum.
Info about the VFW contest:
https://www.vfw.org/uploadedFiles/VFW.org/News_and_Events/2012%20VOD%20Winning%20Speech.pdf = example of last year’s winning essay. The theme was, “Is there pride in serving in the military?”
I believe that the constitution is indeed still used in the American population today. In fact it’s everywhere still. We have a senate, house of reps, judicial and executive branch. Almost every law past has to do with the constitution. All the branches of government still have the same duties. The president controls the army, the Supreme Court still protects the rights of citizens and the legislative branch still helps pass laws. I believe that the fact that many new rights and amendments passed are just a continuation of the constitution. I believe that the constitution was to protect the rights of the people of the time. And as we all know everything changes over time, and the constitution isn’t excluded. As we evolve and grow more and more so will the constitution as we gain more responsibilities. At the time the constitution was just meant to create a way of government, not sustain one. I believe the creators wanted us to change and fix the constitution for our timeline. The constitution isn’t permanent law either it even says to overthrow a government if it abuses these powers. The constitution gives you the rights to own houses, guns and many things. If the constitution wasn’t used today then we would have no rights. We could get our houses searched whenever, not own weapons, and maybe not even have voting rights. But since we still use the constitution we are still surviving and thriving. I believe that it is true that it is being misused in some circumstances and changed often like for the illegal immigrant’s situation but a lot of the rights we have weren’t even in the constitution to begin with. I believe that over time some situations like this will happen and are inevitable. I believe that we should not worry too much about these problems and focus and the fact that we still have rights. That is why I believe that the constitution is still used today.
Today, elements of the constitution appear everywhere in our country. Although the document was written over two centuries ago, it is still the basis of our government and the ultimate law of our Country. Our rights come from the bill of rights that became part of the constitution in the late seventeen hundreds. The right for us to assemble and speak freely, publish what we want, and protest all come from the constitution and we see these rights in action every day. Although parts of the constitution do not have as much affect today, (such as the quartering act) almost all of it still holds true and provides our rights. Today, we see a lot of debate over how the government should observe the constitution. Today, especially seen in the upcoming election, there is a lot of debate on how the citizens should be taxed. There is also a big issue on how the government should help the citizens, (the whole Obama care and debt debates). The constitution gives a basis for all of these things, but it also depends on how it is enforced and understood. Not only has our constitution seen through our rights, and the running of our government, but it also appears through the equality of all the people in our country. In our history, citizens spent their whole lives fighting for equal rights, whether it was women fighting for their right to vote, or the civil rights movement. They worked for years to achieve these things, and they became part of our constitution. Today we live in an equal country, and the people get their right to equality from our Constitution. Our rights, the basis of our Government and the way the constitution is enforced, and the equality of our people are things we see every day, and all of these things are part of our Constitution.
The constitution is extremely relevant today. Within that document lies the basis for our freedom and liberty, as well as the limitations on government. There is a reason for small and limited government. By not following the Constitution, we now have a large and very corrupt central government. Our forefathers knew what they were talking about. The constitution was written over 100 years ago, at a time when people had different values to most people alive today, and society and technology were in general very different to what they are now. Today we still have the legislative branch the executive branch and the Supreme Court which are all still relevant today because it was the constitution that created them. Another reason it is still relevant is that it’s constantly being argued upon every single day, hundreds of issues that plague our country today have to with the constitution most of these issues can be solved by just editing the constitution but there’s also debate about that. It’s basically an endless circle that will go and on as long as there is a United States of America because there would be no U.S. without the constitution which makes it incredibly relevant today. So the constitution is relevant and will always be relevant as long we have a country because it what defines our country it’s why we call ourselves a democracy a republic and not a kingdom. It’s the words in the constitution that make up our government it’s what gives our branches their powers and their limitations it includes the rights of every American citizen which I don’t know about you but our rights are very important they define us as Americans it’s what liberties we have that’s why it’s so relevant today its constantly being debated upon and is constantly in use.
To understand if the constitution is still relevant today, you have to know what it is. The United States Constitution is the supreme set of laws that dignifies who we are and how we act today. The first three Articles of Confederation establish rules and separate powers of the three branches. The Bill of Rights is a major section of the Constitution. The first 10 amendments are shown every single day. The first amendment, Freedom of Religion, drive anywhere in the country and one side of the street there is a Temple, down the road there is a Church and at the corner is a Jehovah’s Witness place. If you think about it, that is incredible, all different religions, being able to practice right down the street. The 2nd amendment is the Right to Bear Arms and in my opinion needs some adjusting. I think only military and law enforcers should be able to own guns. The movie theater shooting, the columbine school shooting and sadly many more could have been avoided if the common people would not be allowed to own fire arms. The fourth amendment, the Right of Search and Seizure means that every single time there is a crime, the law enforcers have witnesses and they are allowed to search the witnesses’ house with a warrant. Without this amendment half the people in jail would be free men. Another amendment is the Right to a Trial by Jury, in life today this happens almost every single case brought to court; a jury makes a more fair equal chance for either the victim or defendant to be tried. In my opinion one of the most important amendments is number 13, the Abolishing of Slavery. Yes, for a long time after the Constitution was written there was still slavery in the south but today there is very little slavery. In some ways people may think that there is slavery right now but if there is it is nowhere close to as cruel as it use to be. Women today have rights, they are able to work, vote, hold office, be in a court house, join the army, and they can do almost anything they want. This resembles amendment 19, the Suffrage of Women. This is just some of the ways that the Constitution is still relevant in today’s world. Everything we do resembles it somehow, some people just don’t realize it.
I believe the Constitution is still in use today in many ways. In some ways it’s abused. One of the parts that are abused is the Bill of Rights: The Right to Bear Arms. In the news everyday you hear sad stories and newscasts about people killing other people with the guns they own. A recent story that everyone has heard about would be the Colorado movie theater shooting. As we all know this happened at the midnight premiere of the new Batman movie. Had it not been so easy for the shooter to obtain the guns, we may have never had this tragedy. The fact that it is so easy for basically anyone to obtain weapons makes tragedy more common. Even though it is an essential right, it is being abused. Although this is a major part of the constitution that we hear and see about every day, there are other parts that are still in use. We still have our basic civil rights and if it weren’t for those rights we would be a totally different nation. Because of these rights we can speak freely, write about what we want, believe in the religion of our choice, and be free of unreasonable search and seizure. Without these rights people could come and search our homes without a warrant and it would be completely acceptable. Without these rights we wouldn’t be able to have different opinions on anything! There are two ways to interpret these rights though. You can choose to interpret them loosely, which means you believe what you want. Or you can have a strict interpretation which means you take it as it is, word for word. Other than our rights we still have our three branches of the federal government; legislative, executive, and judicial. Even though the constitution was written a long time ago the things in it are still relevant to our nation today and the constitution is definitely still in use.
In today’s world, the constitution comes up almost on every corner in our country. The elements of the constitution are on more corners of our country than Starbucks. Even though the paper was written 225 years ago, it is still the law of the land and the blueprint of our government. The rights of the people come from the Bill of Rights that became part of the constitution shortly after it was written. Freedom of speech, press, to protest, and many more all come from the constitution. Some parts of the constitution, like the third amendment, are not as much of an effect as they were 200 years ago, but the majority of the constitution still holds a lot of power. There is, and probably always be, debates and concerns on how we should interpret the constitution. For example, the fourteenth amendment was passed to protect freed slaves after the Civil War. Today the issue is, “what if a baby is born here to parents who are illegal?” Another confusing concept is what “general welfare” means in the preamble and in Article 1, Section 8. Does it mean the government helps the needy, or is the government going beyond its Constitutional powers by doing so? “Does Social Security violate the Constitution” is a question that goes along with general welfare. If Social Security is unconstitutional, then what else is over the government’s power? The Second Amendment is always under debate. Considering a puffy North Face jacket could make you almost invincible back then, James Madison never thought guns could turn into the extreme weapons they are today. The Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments allow any American citizen (18 and older) to vote. Some states are making it harder for people to vote. In Michigan, if it is your first time voting, you cannot use an Absent-T ballot. In other states, you have to show photo ID to vote. Photo ID includes a driver’s license or a gun license (even though it does not have your photo). More than 21 million Americans do not have their driver’s license and not everyone owns a gun. You can’t even use your veteran photo ID card. The Constitution is the law of the land and the blueprint for our country. It’s were people get the idea of an “American Dream” and it’s what separates us from countries like Pakistan and Iraq.
I think the Constitution itself is still very relevant today. If it wasn’t, there wouldn’t be so many people working so hard to maintain it. But, there are some things in the constitution that are no longer relevant. For example, the second amendment, the right to Bear Arms. When this law was written in 1787, people needed guns regularly to hunt for their food. But now, most people don’t need guns on a daily bases to get their food, and some people abuse this amendment by using their arms as weapons.
The three branches, Executive, Legislature, and Judicial are still used today. The Executive branch can veto laws. The Legislature branch can override a presidential veto if there is a 2/3 majority vote. The Legislature can also create laws. The Judicial branch decides if the Legislature’s laws are unconstitutional or not. And if they are not constitutional, the Legislature can rewrite them.
You can see the constitution being in use almost everywhere. For example, commercials (proposal 1, 2, 3, ext.), television shows (Law and Order), on the road (road repairers), and even in your own neighborhood (lawn signs for people running to be judges, mayors, ext.). Many adult conversations are usually somehow related to the constitution. And just about every single American citizen’s life is affected by the constitution. Like the foreigners who have babies born in the United States. According to the 14th amendment, people born in the U.S. are considered American citizens no matter what their parent’s immigration status is. But these people are becoming under attack by conservative critics who question the legality of the 14th amendment.
So basically, the constitution is just as relevant, if not even more, than it was back in 1787. It is said that the constitution is the “Supreme Law of the Land”, and that’s exactly what it is. Our whole government and country is based on the constitution.
I believe that the Constitution is still relevant today, but should not be interpreted word for word, because America has changed since the Constitution was written. I believe that interpreting the Constitution word for word is not logical, and therefore I believe that the Constitution should be interpreted in the general sense of taking the broad message and not the specifics. For example, the Constitution was written at a time when weapons, such as guns, were much less advanced than they are today. The right to bear arms was therefore more reasonable then than it is today. Guns today are capable of much more than they were in 1790. Shootings, such as those committed over this past summer, were a result of multiple high-power guns being possessed by people that should not have access to such powerful weapons. Stricter gun laws could decrease the number of shootings like these, however, some people believe that having stricter gun laws is “unconstitutional”. The Bill of Rights gives Americans “the right to bear arms”, but, if I understand correctly, it does not say anything about making it harder for unstable people to obtain a gun. Therefore, generally accepting the “right to bear arms” would insure that people can have a gun, but could also make it more difficult to get one. This does not interpret the Bill of Rights word for word, but it applies the concept to today’s world, making changes that can improve the country. Unlike the second Amendment, parts of the Constitution apply to today’s world quiet easily, probably because those parts of America have stayed somewhat the same over time. These areas include the structure of the government, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, as well as many others included in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The structure of the government was partly structured around the idea of human nature and human nature in relation to the government, and since human nature is the same as it was when the Constitution was written, this system still works. Also, freedoms given by the Bill of Rights– such as freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and so on– are rights that are just and cope with human nature, so they also apply and work in today’s society.
Many of the arguments today are more a matter of opinion and values than one of constitutional verses unconstitutional. I believe that with a more general interpretation of the Constitution, what is good for America today will not be looked passed. We can not live by every rule that worked back then, because not every rule applies to now. America changed, and is still changing, so it is important to account for those changes when discussing the meanings behind the Constitution.
The constitution is what established who we are today and is still relevant by all means. It established the core of our society today and that is freedom, liberty, and more power to the people than the government. When the constitution was written life was very different. Obviously not the same technology, people didn’t live the same way as we do, yet the general idea of the constitution is relevant today. What if the government didn’t have limited power. My guess is we wouldn’t be living the same way as we do now. The constitution was not some essay written by a sixth grader, the people who started our great country knew what they were saying. We still have the three branches, legislative, judicial and executive. The sixth grader didn’t come up with that our fore fathers did and they put it in the constitution. The only argument as to why the constitution is not relevant today would be the debate of modifying it. Although this point is argued it has not been changed and it still works. The constitution is what makes our country what it is today, a well oiled democracy. It is what separates us from other countries, it gives our people freedom and rights and limits our government from having too much power. Without it we wouldn’t have freedom and wouldn’t have become the most powerful nation in the world. If we did not believe in what our fore fathers said and made us we would be a mess. Our democracy is what made us such a successful nation today and without the constitution we would not have that. We would fit in with all the other unsuccessful countries and have our enemies gunning for us. More or less, we wouldn’t be the same and who knows, maybe we wouldn’t still be a country
The constitution is still relevant today, but the policies it defines are not as radical today as they were during its ratification. You can see some of the most important policies instituted in the Bill of Rights through our legal system. The Miranda rights are a quintessential part of of this system. The right to an attorney, the right to a speedy trial, the right to be judged by a jury of your peers, the right to remain silent (no self incrimination), and the right to face your accusers are simple facts of life to American Citizens, but not so to other parts of the world. Our judicial system is designed to protect the innocent through the need for a very thorough trial, the often quoted ‘innocent until proven guilty’ rule. The right to an attorney allows legal counsel to any and all arrested. The right to a speedy trial prevents suspected criminals from rotting in prison for excessive amounts of time before trial. The right to be judged by a jury of your peers allows for a fairer trial, and makes it far, far, far harder to buy off a trial. The judge rules but the jury decides. The right to remain silent prevents self incrimination, you can’t be coerced into giving a testimony that could hurt your case; you can’t be asked leading questions in a trial. The right to face your accusers helps prevent vendetta cases, cases where people are accused of crimes just to get back at them. The rights are a central part of our country and are the rights of any US citizen. They allow for the innocent to have the best shot of preventing incarceration for a crime they didn’t commit. However, they aren’t perfect. These laws are designed for protecting the innocent not persecuting the guilty.
The constitution is still relevant to this very day. It is still used in the government as the basis of all laws as it was intended to when it was written in 1787. There is clear evidence of this in the process of checks and balances. The constitution was originally written to equalize the power between the three branches of government to make sure that no branch is too powerful. That within itself is the whole purpose of checks and balances. When a law is written, it is sent to the executive branch, in which the president can veto the vote, and only after two-thirds majority of the vote can the veto be overridden. Even after that, it has to be reviewed by the judicial branch. The judicial branch compares it to the constitution to check to see if the law is fair or “constitutional”. The constitution has been changed twenty-seven times in the last two hundred years, all for the benefit of others or to add equality to the American states. Two of those amendments, or changes to the constitution, have been disregards, or “loljks” on the constitution. A bill of rights has been added as well, which just listed the rights that Americans have. Of course, several changes have been made. After slavery was abolished, African Americans were given more than 3/5 of a vote in congress. Some people may say because of these changes, the original ideas of the constitution aren’t as important as they used to be, but I think they still are. We still take pride in having this sole document as the foundation of our country. The document itself is in a pressurized glass case in Washington DC, untouched by human hands since the day it was written. If this document was no longer relevant by American standards, why is it held at such a high priority by both our museums and our government?
Yes of course the constitution is still relevant today. It is the center of our government, without we have nothing in this country. It gives us all the rights we practice today. A lot of the constitutions may be overlooked because we take it for granted, some might think it is irrelevant but for the most part it is and whoever thinks that probably doesn’t know what the constitution is composed of. The constitution is what allows our country to function it sets up the three branches of power in our federal government and people think it is not relevant to us today? It obviously does because are government still functions for the most part the way it is supposed to and the way it was designed by our founding fathers. Some may think however that the right to bear arms is an example of an amendment that is not relevant today because they believe the times have changed and that this right should no longer apply because it is a possible hazard to some. Though I believe this amendment of the constitution is still relevant to today this country was founded by people with guns who shot them at stuff and a lot of people feel very strongly about the right. So of course this right itself is still relevant because there are still people practicing it the way it should be, for that reason it is relevant. It will become irrelevant when nobody needs guns in America, but people still do in some places. So the facts are facts the constitution is very relevant the whole structure of our communities to our counties to our states to our country revolve around it, and if so many things in America relay on the constitution then how can anyone say it is irrelevant? Well they can’t say it, at least not without being wrong.
Is the constitution still relevant today? I would say the constitution isn’t 100% relevant but there still are some very important points seen today, on example of this is the right to bear arms, as well as the checks and balances systems. The truth is that the constitution was written many years ago, while America has endured so much more change. Throughout American history there have been changes in the constitution to make it more relevant, which modifies or creates amendments to adjust with the change in technology or economy. Now I think the constitution was written really well, the representatives I think knew what this document would become and how crucial it was to get everything right. The constitution is still America’s rule of law; each branch follows the rules written in the Constitution a long time ago. There are very few problems with laws and acts except probation that have gone through all 3 of our government branches and were filtered to be constitutional and acceptable which means something is working right, or the constitution would be getting changed a whole lot more. Right now I think the majority of the American people see the constitution ad irrelevant, especially now in tough economic times. I think the American people have started to lean a bit towards socialism because there getting economic help from the government. The constitution isn’t set up for socialism, its set up for democracy. I Think the government has veered a little bit off of the constitution politicians want people to vote for them so they provide assistance for them or vote yes just to help their campaign, they get reelected, creating an infinite cycle. The constitution is definitely still relevant and in some aspects followed strictly, while in other instances the constitution is avoided just for the politician’s jobs not for the benefit of the country.
Modern day, I strongly believe that the Constitution is still relevant and is in use. Today many of the basics of our country and its government that originated from the Constitution are in effect currently. Today some of the fundamental government systems including, the senate, House of Representatives, the judicial branch and executive branch. Although these systems seem to be running smoothly, other aspects of the Constitution today are often abused and interpreted differently. Present day, there are many ways to interpret the Constitution; this could be loosely or strictly. Interpreting the Constitution loosely can lead to many controversial topics because the fact that the Constitution can mean a variety of things to different people. A strict interpretation has more structure to it and can be supported by facts and has usually a limited number of meanings. These two ways to interpret the meanings cause many government officials and historians to argue about what may be deemed Constitutional or unconstitutional (legal or illegal). For example today, many of the US citizen’s rights are taken advantage of including the right to bear arms, the freedom of speech, press, and right to assemble. The right to bear arms has obviously caused havoc and always has the chance to end in a fatal and dangerous result. Also the freedom of speech is often abused and there have been many court cases that have set precedents as to when you have these rights. In each situation your rights could be compromised. Personally, I believe the Constitution sets a great basis and influence on our country, but should be able to be adapted easily. Today, it takes a long process to adapt the Constitution to fit our circumstances today. The process by which we create new amendments to change the Constitution is a long and tedious one, and by the time it goes into effect, the change might not be applicable anymore. Truly, modern day, the Constitution sets a great foundation for our government and country, but may need to have some adaptations to fit the present day also.
I believe the constitution is still relevant because it is still being used and referenced to today. The constitution is being used in many debates; a large debate would include gay marriage. People who oppose gay marriage believe that the freedom of religion justifies their beliefs. However, people who support gay marriage counteract that argument with the clause of separation of church and state in the first Amendment, where it states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The constitution is also relevant because its system of checks and balances is still used today in our government. Many of our amendments are still being applied to today including the 3rd through the 10th amendment. The 2nd amendment is still being fought about, because there are many people who believe that gun rights should be prohibited, even with a license. Supporters of gun rights bring up the 2nd amendment to show that not only gun rights are allowed; they are supported in the constitution. Also, the constitution is still relevant today because it is the “supreme law of the land.” The constitution not only overrides all laws, treaties and state constitutions. It is also being used by the Judicial Branch to help pass a law into congress. If a law is passed through the house and senate that is not constitutional, it is denied and the law is dropped. The constitution is the most relevant of all American documents because its purpose is as stated in the preamble. “We the People… establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.” The constitution is the most relevant of all American documents because its purpose, as outlined in the preamble is still being used today and is one of the key traits of American patriotism.
Along with most people of the law and my fellow peers I too believe that the Constitution is relevant and should continue to be our main reference for when there are problems with the law. Many things that were outdated have been fixed, and the creators of the Constitution did a great job in the first place. It makes excellent points and allows us to keep the government and the citizens under control. To abide by the Constitution is a way too keep the United States away from chaos and helps us make decisions more easily.
Although most of the Constitution is applicable, there are some things that are outdated that we need to check up on. I am very against the policy for the right to bear arms, even if it is “only” a concealed hand gun. If you have direct permission from the government and a good reason, by all means go right ahead. But there are some people who think that its acceptable to walk around places just to feel tough and cool with a hand gun tucked away in their purse or pocket, and that is considered constitutional. Come on guys, forreal?
But other than that and perhaps a few other things, the Constitution is extremely important in today’s government system. It provides rules and regulations for the people and the government of America and doesn’t let it fall into an illegitimate, make-it-up-as-we-go-along system. So lets stick to it, shall we?
I feel as though this question should not be relevant because in my view, I see the Constitution everywhere. But just because the Constitution is relevant, does not mean that it is always followed fairly. Sadly I also see many things that may violate the Constitution as well. We still have three branches of our government, legislative executive, and judicial, and checks and balances are still used to ensure that any one branch dies not have power over the others. The Bill of Rights is also very much in use and even though some have limitations, they are for the better of the people, such as having the freedom of speech but not being allowed to yell “fire: in a movie theater. The many other amendments mentioned such as the right to bear arms, freedom of religion, freedom of press, right to privacy, right to a speedy trial by jury of our peers, prevention of excessive fines and punishments and more are still in use every day though there are many times these amendments are broken with by the common people or professionals in these areas of work of policemen, judges, and more. Under the Constitution, you are allowed to worship whatever religion you desire, or not worship anything/ anyone at all. Under law, you are allowed to bear arms if you have a license though I do not exactly agree with this, for I believe arms will only increase violence, not stop it. A police officer legally cannot search your house for any reason without a warrant of written consent from a court for suspicion of something. You are allowed a fast jury and you are allowed a lawyer/attorney in in times of when a lawyer is needed in law. A clear example of this is the Miranda rights that is used for every arrest that is required for ever police officer to conduct while handcuffing their arrestee. You have, to some degree, the freedom of press and assembly which can be witnessed in many activist sights for punishments, such as the recent case when a woman was arrested for letting her children play un-supervised and many outbursts of people arose. So yes, the Constitution is very much relevant in present day.
In an ideal world, every bill passed by a government would benefit the entire population. But in a world where no two people think the same, what is considered beneficial? The Constitution was developed to regulate government control and set a mandate for the basic rights that all U.S. citizens should possess. When assessing the validity of the Constitution in the modern day, one must look at it not as the divine word of law, but rather as a living, ever-developing being. The United States in the 21st century is nothing like it was at its founding because in an ever-changing world, development is inherent. Society and the political world continue to change and as such, the Constitution is gradually being added to to suit a modern world with modern ideals. The Constitution set forth a basis for the government of the United States, an entity that is always developing, but that does not mean that it should be forgotten in the modern day. A government does not occur by itself and the Constitution was America’s moral and ethical foundation that continues to support the entire structure of the nation. Over time, new ideas came to make the foundation even more secure, such as the 19th Amendment, which prohibited anyone to be denied the right to vote based on sex. While such an idea would have been unheard of at America’s founding, it ultimately strengthened this nation as a whole. The Constitution has to be open to interpretation and change, otherwise it would very quickly become inapplicable to the modern world. It is in the clashing interpretations of the Constitution where conflict occurs. The entire U.S. political world, be it liberal or conservative, tries to find justification in its ideals in the Constitution. It may be argued that people interpret what they want to believe from the Constitution, and it is in this way that everything comes full circle. The Constitution is the basis for American liberal or conservative political ideals and politicians constantly try to justify their principles by referencing the Constitution. This never-ending cycle continues to evolve American society and thus, the Constitution will forever be applicable in the continuously developing America.
Yes, the Constitution is still relevant today. It is the birthstone of our country and will always be relevant in our politics. It was written by the amazing men who founded this great country, whose intention was to write a paper that could forever govern America. But, how can a paper written hundreds of years ago be so crucial to the state of a country? You see, recently many people have been turning towards the constitution to deal with many issues. Like when a new law is trying to be passed, people say that its unconstitutional and that is why the law should not pass. For example, when Obama released his new health care plan, there was harsh retaliation from people against health care. Their biggest defense against it was that they claimed it was unconstitutional. In fact, this matter was taken to the Supreme Court, where the judges had to decide if Obama Care was a breach in our Constitution. After a long deposition, the judges narrowly decide that it was constitutional. Something I would like to add is that the Amendments of the Constitution are very important to my argument that the Constitution is relevant. Without the 27 Amendments, the Constitution would not state our rights as American citizens. Without these rights, our country would be thrown into chaos. They define what is expected of us as citizens and what we can and cannot do. It organizes our crime system, which is crucial to a safe and successful country. Finally, it organizes our voting system and puts restrictions on the President. To conclude, there are definitely certain parts of the Constitution that are out dated and may not directly apply to us now. But, with the help of the Amendments of the Constitution and the interpretation of it’s meaning, the Constitution has remained a crucial part of the way our great country operates today.
Google defines constitution as “A body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organizations is acknowledged to be.” Fundamental principles, in the days of old were summed up through the articles of confederations ad well as amendments, detailing those rules and laws we ought to follow if we are to “form a more perfect union”. A child grows and matures with age, as do we as a country. Our “more perfect union”, though far from perfect, is not what it once was. Cause and effect, that is the nature of the world we live in. To adapt and tackle these ever-changing chains of events I believe is humanity’s greatest gift, excluding the iPhone 5 obviously. Solutions that were once sufficient are of no use anymore. The energy crisis cannot be solved by breaking into Watergate; our national debt will not be paid off by dodging shoes thrown at us, no matter how impressive it was; and our countries internal affairs such as violence and drugs should not be solved by fooling around with an intern, but of course, if anyone asks, we did not have sexual relations with that woman. Our problems of today are not solved by solutions of yonder, and so, that is why the Constitution, and all her mighty glory, cannot, in her current state, hope to be relevant to the impending situations of today.
The Third Amendment, while being one of the most disputed as well as the subject of a plethora of pedestrian attempts at jokes, will be the centerpiece for my expose, as well as the theme for my plethora of cliché jokes, so bear with me. At a first glance, a statement such as: “The right two bear arms” may seem strange at first, maybe the statement is referring to a bear who isn’t very coordinated and is made fun of constantly by all his left-handed bearsmen. Or these iconic words can be interpreted as: “The right to Bear Arms”. As one may be allowed by law to posses a pair of bear arms, or rather, maybe it be a slang term referring to a man (or woman) who may (of they choose) to grow out the hair on their arms to a point where they resemble those of a bear. And finally, the least accepted reading of the aforementioned words would be: “the right to bear arms”, speaking of one’s given right to poses firearms of some sort. The later, although as preposterous as it may seem, is what I will proceed to discuss.
With the current violence and violent occurrences running rampant around the country, it comes into question whether we are responsible enough to bear arms. In recent events, shootings have caused quite a stir. How can we distinguish ourselves from animals if we cannot be responsible enough to handle such idle things like guns? A dog is not trusted with a nuclear missile for no one feels as if they are to be trusted. The populous lives in fear of serial killers, serious killers, and regular killers because “with great power, comes great responsibility”, and those who cannot, don’t deserve to poses it. This reason alone (not because I do not have any more, just because it its capable of standing by itself), is why with the current time’s currents constantly shifting, a constitution erected so long ago will constantly erode until it is no more.
The constitution is not only used today and very relevant, but is the still used every in our government. They explain each branch of our government very carefully, and form the original government that America is. The framers of the constitution have thoughtfully carved out all of the problems of the British monarchy of the 1700’s and before, and have kept us from unfair rule and dictatorship. With the checks and balances rule, there has been no president that has become an unfair dictator and the government has been balanced. The constitution, although very much followed today, can also be abused. In the bill of rights, there is a law that all men have the right to bare arms. This year has questioned this right many times by terrible gun shootings, some guns registered and some not. The sad massacre that occurred in Columbine High school and the shooting in Virginia Tech has created a large stir about this law, and many people believe there should be rules now for who can carry such destructive weapons. Back when the constitution was made, the guns weren’t nearly as powerful, and could not be used as such a terrible weapon.
The constitution may still apply to government, but the world is very different from 225 years ago. The constitution did declare the separation of church and state, but the ideals of many religions have influenced many important topics in presidential debates today. These include the idea of abortion and gay rights. Many Christian’s have a view of anti-abortion and no gay marriage. Many of the southern Christian based states value these things highly, and will choose the president due to these non-economic ideas. These ideas did not apply to the constitution at the time. Many problems from 225 years ago also do not apply today, for example, the right that no soldiers will quarter in a citizen’s house. Since the age of the civil war, a war has not been fought in America, and this right has become ancient and non-relevant. Although the constitution is still applied to today’s government regularly, the society of 1787 past non-political issues do not apply as much.
Given that there are always some exceptions when it comes to legal issues and politics, I think the Constitution is still very relevant today. The extremely crucial parts of the document that frame the government have not changed; there are still three main branches that check each other and balance the power. Looking at the 27 Amendments, it’s easy to see that a majority of them are still prominent and active today. Without the New Jersey Plan for representation, our government would be extremely biased and corrupted. There are some exceptions, though. The laws and rights presented in the Constitution are often bent and manipulated to the advantage of the people or the government. When a person gets in trouble for saying something they shouldn’t on the internet, television, or radio, they can simply say “I have freedom of speech/press, don’t I?” to get out of violating other smaller media laws. On the other hand, the government restricts what can and can’t be said in certain media. Although there are many valid reasons behind this, it comes down to contradicting the first amendment. It’s near impossible to say who is right or wrong in this situation. Another reason that parts of the Constitution are not valid is because they simply don’t apply to modern times anymore. The third amendment bans what was the equivalent to the Quartering Act, which was applied to the Constitution in 1791. This was probably a big deal to them because of the outrage the Intolerable Acts had caused. There were also the prohibition amendments, where one enacted it and one repealed it. In addition to irrelevant amendments, there are also amendments that give freedoms to people that, in some places, are socially unaccepted because of historical events. Even if the constitution isn’t perfect, and our government isn’t perfect there is one thing that has to be remembered. Walter Winchell said, “Too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it.”
I believe that the constitution is still an important part of our government and used as a guideline of the way we live today. I also think that some amendments should be made on some of the bills of rights. Some of the bills are outdated and need to be improved to be better suited for today’s lifestyle. One bill in particular that I think should be repealed is the 2nd amendment that protects our right to bear arms. It seems as though every time we turn the tv on we hear devastating news on people being killed or injured due to a shooting. Too many people abuse the right to have a gun, and knowing that makes a lot of Americans feel unsafe. The whole point of the constitution is to protect Americans, and I don’t think this bill is doing that. So I say we amend that bill so that not “anyone” can buy or have possession of a gun. On the flip side I think that there are some really good rights that still apply to today’s lifestyle. For example, civil rights. Civil rights is what sets America apart from any other place. These rights give us the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, ect. Without these laws no ones opinions would matter, everyone would just be a clone of one and another. These rights can be seen and used in daily life in two very different ways. The first way being a strict interpretation. This pretty much means you listen and follow the right “word for word”. The other way is a loose or free interpretation. This means you have you’re own take on the rights and kind of use them freely and how you want. We also still use the three branches of federal government. The three branches are legislative, executive, and judicial. All of the branches check and balance each other. This means not one branch gains too much power. I think the branches are a great way to keep our government in check and keep the balance of power. So yes I do believe the constitution is still relevant to us today, and I do think we need to keep it in use to guide our government. I really do think the constitution will remain an important part to America for many more years.
Before I answer the question, I would like to start with a summary of the Constitution. Before the Constitution was accepted by the states on June 21, 1788, the weak Articles of Confederation were in order. These articles barely linked the states together by a fragile Congress that had almost no power, due to the fact that the colonies were still wary from the abundance of taxes from England. Congress was not able to regulate commerce and politely asked the colonies to contribute some money, which they brazenly refused. The real epiphany that the articles were not going to work out was when Daniel Shay and his army of backwoods farmers demanded cheap paper money, less demanding taxes, and suspension of property takeovers. This rag-tag army made many people realize that they did not have enough money to put up against even a bunch of farmers. The state of Massachusetts did end up putting forth a small army paid by many of the wealthy but people were growing afraid of rebellions. A powerful government was needed, and fast. A convention was summoned in Philadelphia on May 25th, 1787. Many great leaders met there such as George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. The wealthy, 55 delegates went to work and came up with the Constitution, in which 39 of them signed, and they sent to the states for ratification. Eventually (and somewhat reluctantly for some) all of the states agreed (even though they really only needed nine to concur). The Constitution describes: the power of each of the branches; judicial, legislative, and executive. It then describes the flaws of the Articles of Confederation; economic, social, and political amongst the states, and amends the articles weaknesses. It then discusses its control over local and state laws, and how the document would be ratified (after the convention). Later, a Bill of Rights was added to specify exactly what an individual’s rights were. After 1790, there were 17 more amendments added on to even further specify ones rights. Now we come to how the constitution is still relevant. First of all, we still have the same three branches from way back in 1787, when the Constitution was first ratified. We have the legislative branch, with the two part congress, that contains the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the House, we still vote for who we want to be in the house, and they need to be 25 years or older with at least seven years of citizenship. The representatives in the house are based on population. Back then, this had caused quite a dispute, seeing the smaller states felt that if something such as this happened, they would be hopelessly underrepresented. However, they made a compromise that still holds true today. The House is also able to impeach the president. For example, the House was planning on impeaching President Richard Nixon because Nixon had people break into the campaign headquarters of his Presidential opponent for the election that year. The House was going to impeach him, but he resigned. Since the house was based on population, the Senate would then have two Senates per state, to fit the need of the larger and smaller states. I’m sure both large and small states today feel grateful for this compromise, because representation is crucial since part of the decision process is supposed to be up to the people. Members of the Senate must be at least thirty years old with nine years of citizenship. The Senate is controlled by the vice president. The third branch, the executive branch still contains the president, who is the commander and chief of armed forces. The President has to be 35 or over, and a born citizen. He is elected by a popular vote and Electoral College. The checks and balances help make sure not one branch has total power over the United States. Any US citizen over 18 is able to vote, no matter what race or gender you are. Also the freedom of religion is used generously considering we have a plethora of religions, from Muslim, to Christian.
“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land” (Article 6, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution). This statement is what is known as the supremacy clause. It states that the Constitution is the highest law and cannot be violated by any U.S. citizen. Though this clause, along with the entire Constitution, were written over 200 years ago, they are still extremely relevant today. In fact, just a minute ago I saw an example of the constitution in my life. I was sitting on my bed, listening to Pandora while I was writing this response. Suddenly, a commercial came on. The commercial was about “Proposal Two”. Governor Snyder explains that, “… Proposal Two would amend our constitution to change the way bargaining would work in our state” (http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-60279-286346–,00.html). Now, this constitution is not the U.S. constitution, but the Michigan constitution. None the less, this is one way in which the constitution is still very much present in our lives: people are still paying attention to it and making changes to it. This example also includes another example of how the constitution is still relevant: the fact that Michigan has its own Constitution but is still part of the United States is something that was established by the constitution.
The constitution is in many ways still relevant today. It states what the government can and cannot take away, not necessarily what we have. This is a gift that will always be relevant for a democratic government. The Bill of Rights, along with many other Amendments, is what gives us most of the rights we use daily, for instance the Freedom of Speech, Press, and Religion. The Bill of Rights was created for the purpose of stating the rights of man directly after the Constitution was written. Modifications have been made on the Constitution 27 times. I believe we will continue to make modifications to the constitution to fit our new state of living, though it is always important to make sure we only pass ones that are for the betterment of all people. It is arguable that some of our rights don’t pertain to today’s times. One of the Amendments from 100 years ago isn’t even possible unless in extreme cases that are small to none in happening (Limits on Quartering Soldiers). The Constitution is also often abused to get people out of a tight jam. The government has also been known to cross the line when it came to some rights. The battle for real freedom of speech has been a real struggle. In the past, no matter how peaceful your gathering were, if the government didn’t like what you were protesting about they found a way to stop you, sometimes violently. Many people are aware of this, though normally no punishments are initiated. So the Constitution gets a tug from sides, the people and the government. It is used as an excuse, a get out of jail card, and much, much more. It is very relevant throughout America. But one thing that it does that would be the worst to lose is give a people a say in how they ought to live.
I think the only answer to the question of the Constitution being relevant in modern day, is that the Constitution is still relevant today. Even though times have changed since 200 years ago, the principles of the Constitution are still needed and used today. We still have three houses, legislative, executive, and judicial. And all three houses still use checks and balances. The founding fathers did a good job of creating the Constitution in a way that congress can change it as the times change. So far there have been 27 amendments to the Constitution. The first amendment, freedom of speech, religion, press, and right to peacely assemble is one of the most relevant part used today. When you look at all the technology used today, it kind of enhances the first amendment because it made it easier to use freedom of speech and press. Also the part of the first amendment that says people have the right to a peaceful assembly is used today by people protesting, for example, abortion. The 6th amendment is another one that is used a lot today. It says that people have the right to a speedy trial and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State. This law is used everyday in courts all around the country. However, the part of the constitution that is argued about all throughout history is amendment 10. The 10th Amendment says that any powers not delegated the U.S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the States, are reserved to the states respectively , or to the people. This has been argued over because there is a grey area. Even though this is the most controversial part of the Constitution, it is also the most important part of the constitution. When the Founding Fathers created the Constitution, they were trying to prevent the formation of a dictatorship or the federal government controlling everything. After all, democracy does mean that the people have all the power.
Yes I do believe the constitution is still relevant today. This is because the basic principles in the constitution are still in use today. Americans value freedom of religion and freedom of press and speech and the freedom to assemble as well as all the others right the constitution gives us. We are able to to have the freedom to practice whatever religion we want. We can also speak out about issues and assemble in public and write about what we believe in the papers. As long as we are not harming anyone, we do have this freedom in the country due to the constitution. Also the separation of powers that we have keeps our government stronger. Through our system of check and balances our government is held accountable. We are a country that believes in law. We can see in some countries that the rule of law breaks down because the people don’t have a good government. We are a society that is based on the views of the people. Even though our constitution was written so long ago during a time when there was no technology and the views toward women and minorities were much different, the document is still relevant today because we are still able to use it to craft laws that are meaningful to our society. Today we have equal rights laws for everyone. After Women received the right to vote and african americans received the same rights we still uphold these laws which revised and added to the constitution. Although things have changed over the years the constitution gives us a frame work for dealing with new things that happen in society today such as Obama Care. People argue ether Obama care is unconstitutional and certain parts of it were upheld and other parts of it were struck down, but the constitution gave us the means for dealing with this issue. I do believe the constitution is still relevant, and even today we are still trying to form a more perfect union.
I believe the United States Constitution is still relevant today throughout the United States because it is the supreme law of America. The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787, when our Founding Fathers were initially going to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead, they wrote the Constitution. It has guided America from when it was ratified, guaranteeing the United States government under the Constitution, unto today. It is the oldest national constitution in existence and has impacted not only America, but also has set an important precedent for other republican nations. The Constitution affects every American citizen today because it is the framework of the United States and the backbone of our democracy. Our Founding Fathers of the thirteen original colonies wrote the basic principles America was to be based upon, our morals and rights, as well as set up our balanced government in the Constitution. It also affects every American because it granted freedom to all United States citizens. This is not the case in other nations throughout the world due to religious persecution, no rights or equality, or even a written document like our Constitution. The Constitution states that “all men are created equal”, which allows for African Americans and women to have a higher societal status in American than in other countries. This right impacted the election of Barack Obama as our first African American president and Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female Supreme Court Justice. The Constitution is ultimately relevant and still in effect in Washington, D.C., where our central government, which consists of the President, bicameral Congress, and Supreme Court, is located, and where the document is displayed in the National Archives Building. Most important in today’s fast-paced changing world, the original Constitution allowed for amendments with an understanding that change would occur in future generations. This allowance let the 13th Amendment, the abolishment of slavery, to be granted. It also allowed the establishment of the 26th Amendment, which allows citizens ages eighteen and older to vote. This supports the relevance of the Constitution to today because of this amendment’s effects on teens and being able to vote in elections. Also, after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Americans valued and showed more appreciation for the Constitution with American pride and patriotism. Constitution Day/Citizenship Day was created in 2004 as a national holiday to recognize the adoption of the Constitution and celebrate United States citizenship, which occurs annually in mid-September. Although the U.S. Constitution went into effect 224 years ago, it is still relevant today throughout the United States. The Constitution is still the basis of American government, the leading law of the land, and the most important and influential United States document.
Even though the Constitution is almost 225 years old, it is still a relevant document for America because of its ability to restrict the powers of the main branches and people involved in government. One problem that questions the relevancy of the Constitution is the frequent misinterpretations of the document. One such example of this is the “General Welfare Clause”. In Article 1, Section 8, the Constitution gives congress the power to “lay and collect Taxes…to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States.” A common misinterpretation of this would be that Congress can do pass laws to support the General Welfare. This is untrue because while it gives Congress the ability to tax and spend money to promote the General Welfare, it doesn’t give them the right to pass laws to serve the General Welfare. For example, the 18th Amendment banning the sale, distribution, manufacturing, and use of liquor is unconstitutional. This is because Congress passed a law to promote the General Welfare, going beyond its Constitutional rights. What they could’ve done is impose a higher tax on liquor to promote the General Welfare, or require states to have a prohibition law to qualify for funding for state universities.
Another common misinterpretation of the General Welfare statement is that it gives congress the ability to spend money on anything without restrictions. This would violate the checks and balances system and give Congress almost an endless supply of power. This also goes against the 9th and 10th amendments. If Congress was able to spend money freely without justification, this would render the states and people powerless. To quote Thomas Jefferson speaking about the General Welfare statement; “They are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose. To consider the latter phrase not as describing the purpose of the first, but as giving a distinct and independent power to do any act they please which may be good for the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless.”
Because of these and other misinterpretations of the Constitution, it may appear as though the Constitution and its wording are irrelevant. In fact, it is just the opposite. The Constitution is important because the statements it uses are always important at restricting powers of the branches government. What is significant is the lack of understanding of the meaning of the Constitution. By increasing our knowledge of the Constitution, we can show its relevancy even today.
Additional Sources:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxviii
http://www.nolanchart.com/article8669-ron-paul-schools-chris-wallace-on-the-constitution.html
http://nationalparalegal.edu/conlawcrimproc_public/Federalism/CongressionalPowers.asp
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917952/posts
When the Constitution was written in 1787, it was intended to be immortal, forever dictating the law of the land in the United States of America. However, it was also a “living document” that would change as the world around it evolved and grew. Today we see the Constitution shaping our government, repelling corruption within the government, and granting people basic, fundamental rights. At the same time, it is being misinterpreted for the sake of political gain.
Today, our government is set up in nearly the exact same way it was set up in the late eighteenth century. Thanks to the Constitution, the legislative branch writes the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws, just like in the eighteenth century. Thanks to the Constitution, we have rights and protections in courts. And thanks to the Constitution, we have the liberty to say what we want, publish what we want, assemble where and when we want to, petition against the government, and worship or not worship in whichever way we please. Our Constitution has undergone several changes to accommodate the transformed roles of various parts of society. The thirteenth amendment in 1865 banned slavery. The fifteenth amendment in 1870 permitted African American males to vote. The twentieth amendment in 1920 finally gave women suffrage. Without the Constitution, rights we take for granted would be non-existent. Additionally, the Constitution is what binds out country together, awarding the same rights and enforcing the same regulations upon citizens from all fifty states.
Nevertheless, we must remember when the Constitution was written- over 200 years ago. Mindlessly conforming to each and every word of the Constitution and taking the literal meaning of eighteenth century policies is foolish. The Constitution should be loosely interpreted so it remains applicable to our generation and generations to come. Guns are not used the same way they were when the founding fathers were around, and therefore changes to the second amendment should be considered. Secondly, although the Constitution limits the abilities of the federal government and grants powers not held by the national government to the states and to the people, certain issues are more prevalent nowadays that didn’t need to be addressed by the federal government back in 1787. Social Security and “Obamacare” were foreign concepts in 1787, so of course Congress wasn’t given the right to create them. But today, we have found a need for welfare, Social Security, and health programs. The government should be able to meet those needs without being accused of violating the Constitution. The ideals of the Constitution are relevant today, not necessarily all of the outdated content.
I believe that the Constitution is still very relevant today. We still have a separation between the powers of the local, state, and federal governments. All of the branches of government still balance each other out and keep power from shifting towards one branch. Today many of the interpretations of what the Constitution says and allows people to do is being disputed. For example, there are people believe that having the right to bear arms gives them the right to be in possession of a full-sized rifle. In the time that the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution the arms that people possessed were some of the most advanced weapons of the time. With the advancements made in this area however, it is not a safe thing to have people in possession of some of the best weaponry for our time. The damage done by the weapons of our time is much greater than that of the late 1700s. There have been devastating shootings at schools and other public places in the recent past due to the accessibility to the weapons technology. In the fourteenth amendment, it states that U.S. citizenship is guaranteed to every person born on American soil. The original intention of this amendment was to ensure citizenship and equal protection for the freed slaves after the Civil War. Today this is causing major problems today because of all the illegal immigrants. People are coming from other countries illegally and having children in the United States. The children of theses illegal immigrants are known as “anchor babies”. Later in the child’s life they can facilitate the legal immigration of their relatives. Illegal immigrants are coming to America, having children and then making their immigration legal later on in life. The major relevance of the Constitution today is the dispute over how it should be interpreted.
I do believe that the Constitution is still relevant in 21st century America in all of the places where you could think of. In the writing of the Constitution, the words are saying that man has the right to be free and pursuit freedom. Also in the writing, there were restrictions on what the government could and couldn’t do. The government now hasn’t followed what threw on what the government cannot do which has led to the government being in a big mess. I believe that the founders of this country did think about the future America when the Constitution but maybe they didn’t realize that people’s morals could change over time. The Constitution was written over 200 years ago so many people thought differently in that time period. Without the Constitution being created, we wouldn’t have a lot of the things that have shaped America today including the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches and the Supreme Court Justices. The Legislative Branch was established in the first article in the Constitution. It consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate which both of them form the United States Congress. The Constitution allows Congress to enact legislation and declare war. Also, the Legislative Branch has the right to to confirm or reject several presidential appointments and substantial investigative powers. The Executive Branch is controlled by the President. The President is then responsible for enforce the laws that are passed by Congress and eventually appoints the heads of the federal agencies which include the Cabinet. The Vice President also takes part in the Executive Branch because the VP needs to be ready to assume the Presidency just in case anything happens to the President. While the members of the Legislative and Executive Branches are elected by the people, the members of the Judicial Branch are chosen by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Judicial Branch was established in Article three of the Constitution and leaves Congress an important job to determine the shape and structure of the federal judiciary. The United States Supreme Court Justices are the people who have the final descision on if a law should be passed or not. I asked my dad on if he thinks that the Constitution is still relevant today or not and he said yes. He thinks this because he thinks that the Constitution is the general rulebook for the country. He also said that a question that is commonly asked is that, “if a particular thing is constitutional?” People have several opinions on the subject of a particular subject being constitutional. All of this is the reason why I believe that the Constitution is relevant today.
………..[total silence]. ” Awkward silence that has been going on for weeks?, but hey will break the silence!……Pardon, are you telling me that I am supposed to turn away from these news?….I call to the trial of Mr. Exploit for an unknown crime please state what you did Mr. Exploit!Ahem hello Mr. Exploit will you please listen to what I am asking you to do……”As the year 2016 is supposed to be an election year, we have changed things. From now on our president will stay for life and the first to do so is our current president. Before he ends, meaning his death is upon soon he will chose his successor.”(Executive Branch of Government)…..Oh poor little Rhode Island, from now all states have been revoked the rights of Representation by population, all states will be given three votes.
One Word: incomprehensible. If the United States turned into a place with events like the ones described priorly, the country would not be a nice one to live in all means. How comes the United States is not like that though? It is simple: The Constitution. In the Constitution there is Amendments and the Bill of Rights. These give freedoms, like the right to remain silent, in courts for example, they give the freedom of speech, you can talk if you want, freedom of press, you remain the right to be informed about what is happening in the world. Also the fact that presidents are being re-elected every four years is a part of the constitution and it falls sort of into the category of checks and balances were the three parts of government all check over each other. So is it with the presidency. To keep presidents from overpowering or the political party of that president in general, every four years, the people of the country can elect a new president, reelections are still possible. When the first country men were building up the states, they did not take measurements and divided the country up into however many states there were at the moment. In fact they varied in size greatly. While Rhode Island has always been the smallest, Virginia and Pennsylvania have always been on the large side. Just one house of representation from all states would be unfair. If votes were based on population, Rhode Island would loose out, when votes are based on equality large scale states for example Pennsylvania would loose out. Therefore, through the constitution there is one house for each of the representation means. Isn’t it great to have such a document alike the constitution? It saves the people from the government, it saves the government from the government, it saves the government from the people, it saves the people from the people. Yes, it is very good to have such a constitution, because without it we would not be credited with the masses of rights we have, but in addition to that the government could pass so many restrictions. And then when they would invade to live in your house and steel your belongings, you couldn’t even do anything about because you would not have the right to bear arms, the right to privacy or the protection against pointless seizures and searches. So some people might think, caring about the constitution is pointless. It is old and just from a totally different time period that is so not today.
-But hey guess what…the reaaly big thing about it is…
~What, tell me, I wnat to know.
-No, I rather remain silent.
In my opinion the Constitution is still extremely relevant today. We see little signs of it everywhere. It made the government that we still use today. So why wouldn’t it be relevant? As it goes, I believe that the Constitution should be loosely interpreted. I can’t imagine that the founders of the Constitution would have been as willing to allow the right to bear arms if they knew the kind of gun power that guns would have today. There was no way that the founders could have known what the world would be like in two hundred years. So all that Americans can do now is interpreting the Constitution as it applies to the world we live in currently. The Constitution is applied now in modern times in the forms of paying for roads, passing laws, the presidential election coming up, making new Bills, and all sorts of fun things. Also the fact that we have a Judicial court to judge something, if it is brought up, to make sure that a law is Constitutional is only possible because of the Constitution. Questioning whether or not that Obama Care, “anchor babies”, or social security is constitutional is allowed to be questioned because of the Constitution that our founding fathers made a long time ago. In addition, the right to vote is still relevant as the Americans vote for our new president in November and the judges/elected officials in Michigan that citizens recently took apart in. The Constitution has changed and improved the lives of U.S citizens since it has been in effect. It gave form to the government that made sure that no one can truly be the dominant force. It gave citizens’ rights, such as the right to free speech and the right to choose whatever religion you want to be. It even gave to right for other races and women to vote. Even if the Constitution becomes non-relevant in the future, Americans can always work to make it relevant by making amendments. The Constitution is the American way that has helped to mold and shape us into who we are as a country.
The Constitution of The United States is relevant in modern America because it is the highest law in the land. It sets the laws that the country has had in place for two-hundred fifty-five years. It also defines the rights of the citizens that still are used every day by every American citizen. The utilization of these rights is seen every day in district courts all over the country. Often times a defendant will say that their actions were justified by their legal rights, as written in the constitution. On the other side of the spectrum, plaintiffs often say that the defendant’s actions violated their own rights, often their “three inalienable rights”, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
The Constitution of The United States is also still relevant today in passing laws, proving or disproving their accordance with the baseline values our founding fathers placed for us, and giving our government a base to improve itself on. An example of the constitution helping pass laws are the Michigan proposals 1-6. The Michigan legislature found issues not covered in the constitution, and therefore, acted in favor of solving those issues. An example of the usage of the constitution to deem a law fair or unfair was the Challenging of The Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare). The act was challenged because of two district judges contradicting interpretations of the Act and the Constitution. The Act was challenged by the losing party up until the Supreme Court received the case, and through their interpretation of the Constitution, deemed the Act Constitutional. The Constitution is also relevant today, because even now, our government is constantly filling in holes and bettering it. Often the reason behind passing a law is that it was not covered in the Constitution, or the Constitution did not cover it clearly.
The United States Constitution is debatably the most significant and important document in the history of our nation. It has not only directed us Americans, but also nations across the world. The Constitution was established to do just two things; create a federal government for the United States of America and to delegate to the federal government certain, limited powers. There are many that say our Constitution is old fashioned and out dated, and that we have improved our lives and no longer live under the living conditions our forefathers once did. Even though the document was written and approved many decades ago, does not matter. In my opinion, the document was written more to protect man from himself rather than from the government and its powers. Our society hasn’t changed much in our wicked ways; therefore the Constitution will never be out dated as long as we remain the same. I most definitely believe that the Constitution is without a doubt relevant even to this day. Because of the constitution, individuals can freely worship whomever they please (they are given the opportunity to practice their own religion without living in fear of cruelty from the government), gather and form groups of their own purposes, and write complaints about what they don’t like about their country (government) and distribute them. In other words, The Constitution guaranteed freedom to the people. It’s the backbone of our democracy. We still do have the same rights that the Constitution guaranteed which means they have always been relevant, otherwise America would have simply spiraled downhill. However, I am certain that it is not now, and has never been, a faultless document. Like than, we still have some adjustments to be made to the document. The Constitution still stands, and is still protecting us today from allowing the government to have too much power over us and from oppression. The way I see it, there is no America without the Constitution.
I think the Constitution is still relevant today, although not as relevant as it used to be. The Constitution is a very important document, but even back when it was created it was changed, and amendments were added, as was the Bill of Rights, because the original document wasn’t perfect.
Because the original document wasn’t perfect, I think the Constitution may even be changed from time to time. As the world evolves, the Constitution, Bill Of Rights, and The Amendments will evolve with it. Most parts of the Constitution are relevant today, however. The right to bear arms is still intact, although it’s being discussed because some people feel that that right should be removed (thus another point that the Constitution may evolve with time). Many other rights are also intact: the right of privacy, and no searching without a warrant, and the freedom of speech. I think the right of freedom of speech is still very relevant today.
Back when America was ruled by the British, and even in Europe and other countries, people could never officially speak their mind because of fear that they would get punished by people of power such as the kings. So, instead, they made up stories that were almost obvious satire, enough for readers to understand it, but not so much that someone would take them to court on the claim that they had made fun of the king/government. Therefore, with the right of freedom of speech, people are allowed to write what they want to write, and their opinions are very important. For example, if democrats and republicans weren’t allowed to say what they wanted to say, then the debates wouldn’t be very good, and neither would the reviews on a product at store. The right of freedom of speech is probably the most relevant Constitutional right today.
There are many rights and amendments that are still relevant today, even though we don’t notice them. The Constitution will always be relevant because since it will most likely change through time, it will always be relevant at that specific time period.
Many people believe that the Constitution suited our nation well at its founding but is now out of date. Therefore, they believe the courts must interpret its principles broadly to adapt to our evolving social values. For example, the Constitution says nothing explicitly about abortion, which was not a significant issue at the time of the founding. Thus, when a state legislature passes a law legalizing abortion today, how should the courts go about assessing the constitutionality of such a law? They could interpret the Constitution broadly by ruling that, although not stated, it implies a “right to privacy” which includes a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy, or they could interpret it based on the “original intent” of the Founders by ruling that since the Constitution includes no right to abortion, such a right did not exist in their view and still does not exist. The world in 1787, and the world today are 2 different worlds. I believe the Constitution needs to be updated. The Constitution does not address modern day issues, such as immigration, abortion, and healthcare. In my opinion, the Constitution is a historical document that does not bring to life solutions. This historical monumental doc. should be reviewed and updated. The Constitution cannot seriously be considered to be of any actual use; it would normally warrant a complete rewrite, and I suggest we do just that. I understand that there will always be evangelists of the Constitution, but people need to realize that the only real value of The Constitution is as a historical document, a piece of American history, the 5,000 words that established The United States of America, but it should not, and can not, be what carried us through to our end. I do not feel the constitution meets the needs of the 2012 Americans.
I believe that the Constitution is relevant in today’s society because of its “stability” it offers. First, with keeping a standing article that politicians and common citizens abide by has formed a feeling of pride and unity in the country. Regardless of your political views, sexual preference, or gender, the Constitution links us all together in vast amounts of ways. It protects each and every citizen from the constant shifting of political parties and passing fads. It is crucial that we keep a “hard” document of the hopes and desires of the American people, in order to safeguard our rights from the changing of the winds. However, we have established a system of altering this document to better enhance the lives of Americans. This proves that the founding fathers, such as Ben Franklin, took into account how vast our country would change over the past 200 years. With only 17 amendments to the Constitution, this demonstrates how careful our government has been in altering it. In addition, the Bill Of Rights is also a prevalent part in today’s varying society. In my opinion, the first and sixth amendment has made America open to many foreign immigrants as well as protecting the already settled ones. The first amendment is so vital now more than ever with so many new religions voyaging over to America. Unlike many of these foreign countries, America attempts not to push one religion on its people, and allows them too actively protest, without genocides taking place. It is of the utmost importance that we are open and willing to accept different religions, as well as limiting their involvement in political issues, such as abortion. However, in the past several years, strong religious groups have become more actively involved in political parties in order to gain the upper hand on controversial issues. It is curial that these groups refer back to the Constitution, and more importantly the Bill Of Right were it clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”(Cornell University). These two rights are the most significant to uphold, in order to keep citizens safe and fundamentally happy. The Constitution is the most important document formed during the American Revolution not only because of the Bill of Right’s that preserves and maintains the ethical entitlement of each and every citizen, but also protects us from the “men” and “ideas” who wish to change our laws and moral standards to benefit there own.
I think that the Constitution is still applicable today because of many reasons. I also think that in many ways, the Constitution and it’s right are used in the wrong way. The Fourth Amendment is the right to bear arms, which means the right to carry a gun with a permit that allows you. I think this is abused because many people, such as the kid who was carrying a rifle in Birmingham, abuse this right and almost take it for granted. Many people are killed, or even injured because of how easy it is for people to obtain guns.
I think that the Constitution is also applied in good ways too, such as the Seventh Amendment that states that as a person, you are allowed to have a trial by Jury, instead of just being convicted of something that you may not be guilty of.
If we didn’t have the Constitution, we most likely wouldn’t have all of the rights that we have today which allow us to live normally, day to day. Although this was written and enforced around 200 years ago, it is still applied in many ways during the 21st century. I believe that because of the Constitution, our lives have been changed and shaped for the better, and not allowing people to abuse the power that they have.
I definitely believe that the Constitution is still relevant today; the founders of the United States had to think and ponder how governments in history had failed and then became tyrannical. What they got from this was that humans could not be trusted with power; many would become greedy and look for ways to increase their power. The Constitution was founded to limit the power of the government and in turn give more power to the people. That is what the writers of the Constitution wanted. That being said, the Constitution is still relevant today, except in some cases: obama care is trying to change the Constitution in areas where it should really be protected and obeyed. Yes, the Constitution is still alive today, but in my opinion the government is trying to work its way around it. For example Obama care is an assault on the first amendment, yes the Constitution allows amendments to be changed but if it is going against people’s beliefs such, as religion is that the right thing to do? So in some ways the Constitution is not relevant, it has had to be changed in matters according to slavery, the right to vote, and prohibition. But, I think amendments like the first amendment, should be kept relevant always. This document is the base the rock of our government. It is the only thing that keeps the government from being tyrannical. It is so relevant to us today; just think were we would be if we didn’t have the Constitution that guarantees the people of the United States to voice their opinions and beliefs. Some things on the Constitution are outdated, because yes times have changed. But, still it is what we the people revolve around, and the main big points should always be kept relevant.
Personally my view on the constitution goes against the grain, I don’t think that it is very relevant today. As much as it has helped our country through the years, it has hurt us as well. I think that it leaves too much for interpretation; one person can think it means one thing, while another thinks the opposite. I just don’t think that it applies to the matters that we face today. I do believe though that it was a great way to stabilize our country in its early days. In these modern days though, the issues at hand are just too different from those of the past. One such issue is the battle for and against gay marriage, many people for it argue that the Constitution gives every American citizen full rights, but others argue, that the founding fathers didn’t mean that for same-sex couples. This is another example, where people twist the words of the Constitution to make it support their cause. Another heated debate in the US today is about the 2nd Amendment, or the right to bear arms. People argue that the writers of this amendment, in the 1790’s, were thinking about the weapons of their time, such as muskets, not the advanced killing machines that we have today. But as usual, other people interpret it differently, thinking that the writers were talking about all weapons of the past, present, and future. A different topic that is argued about today is whether the children of Illegal immigrants should be considered citizens. The 14th amendment of 1868 states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Many people take this to mean what it says literally, that anyone born in the U.S. is an American citizen, but other groups say that it was only made for the recently freed African slaves, and should not apply to the kids of illegal immigrants. All of these issued were caused by the vague, dated constitution.
The Constitution is very relevant today as it dictates how our government runs, how they are elected, and how it stays a democracy. However, it can not all still be applicable now. A very good example is the second amendment, the right bear arms, (Not Bear arms…) however, when that was written, there was almost no standing army for the Nation and they relied on volunteers to fight for them. Also, they weapons that could blow your head off, or a gun that could kill 10 people with the pull of a trigger. Another thing is what the writers of our constitution did not address, such as thirty seven more states and the idea of privacy in the age of the Internet. I believe that if the constitution was rewritten now to fit our modern technology, ideals, and needs, there would be plenty of push back, but it would help the country as it could remove/ edit things that are no longer relevant, and add things that could benefit us as a country. Many of our problems and disagreements are because of how the constitution is interpreted, (Strict Interpretation and Loose Interpretation), and we cannot interpret it as it is, strictly because not even the founding fathers believed it should be a strict and unbending constitution, George Washington was especially an advocate for preparing the country for the future generations. An example is the supreme court case on Obamacare, where they debated if it was okay to make Americans pay for healthcare or pay a fine. This is where the founding fathers would not have even thought about. Healthcare wasn’t invented yet and medicine at that point was not advanced enough to have a reason for it and so it was not accounted for in constitution. Ron Paul believes social security is unconstitutional, thats was also not in place in 1787. These laws could be thought of as “promoting the general welfare” or they could be thought of as wrongfully taxing the public. In short, although the constitution is old and could use some editing, it still has its merits in modern government.
The United States Constitution is still tremendously relevant to our life today. Within said document holds the division of power between the three branches of our federal government: Judicial, Supreme, and Executive. The checks and balances between those branches essentially is what had separated America from England’s impearl rule. No one man has complete and upmost power over another. It ensures our basic natural born inalienable as human beings; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness along with the United States Bill of Rights, a document containing our original ten amendments.
The constitution is clearly important in our every day lives, but I think that it is also as equally important to view the Constitution with a loose interpretation at least to some degree. An example correlates with this is the second amendment, the right to bear arms. This was written by our founding fathers, in a time where the only guns around were more simplistic rifles. Today we have a much larger range of more advanced weaponry choices, which are not only used for self-defense theses days. They’re commonly used in felonies such as robberies and acts of unneeded violence, even murders. This great country’s founding fathers most likely never had envisioned such scenarios when writing the second amendment.
Without the Constitution ensuring our rights as the people of America we wouldn’t be nearly as close as we were today. We would be no different than any other ruling country in the world.
The Supreme Law of the United States is clearly relevant today, had it not been it wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t make such few changes to it, nor would we take such a long process in deeming something constitutional or not. The document is timeless. Written some 200 years ago and is still thoroughly used today in our everyday lives.
I believe that the Constitution is relevant everywhere in our society today. This document was pretty miraculous. It was created over 200 years ago and it has only been changed 27 times. It is amazing that the writing is so great, that it can still hold true throughout two centuries. Especially the governing bodies. The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches were set up in such a way that they would balance each other out. The Checks and Balances system is something that greatly influences our nation today. This makes it impossible for any one branch to have ultimate power, and this is one of the factors to what has made the government so successful. The Bill of Rights is also extremely relevant today. This document states all of our rights as citizens; such as the freedom of speech, the freedom of press, and the freedom of religion. All of these things are main factors in our system of government, and they come up all of the time. When there was a debate going on about building a mosque at Ground Zero, people argued that it should be allowed because freedom of religion states that this would be ok. However, people argued that it would undermine that powerfulness of the monument, and all that it stood for. Ultimately, they couldn’t say no to building the mosque because the Constitution is regarded as the supreme law of the land. Another way that the Constitution is relevant today rests in the seventh amendment. This gives anyone convicted of a crime, the right to a trial by jury. Every day there are hundreds of court cases, and this law still holds true. Every single person whether a murderer or a shoplifter is given the right to a jury trial. I think this is especially important because it shows the true equality of our nation. The 19th amendment gives the right to vote to women, which was revolutionary when it was passed. It truly equalized our nation. Overall, our constitution is proof that we have a free and equal country. No matter what happens we can always feel secure in knowing that we will always have our rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
I believe the Constitution will always be relevant. Through the amendment process we keep the Constitution relevant; if a law becomes irrelevant to the time or abusive the Constitution is amended to fix the problem. An example would be with the right to bear arms, the second amendment. The amendment states that “The people may bear arms. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Here’s where lose and strict interpretations come to play and make this potentially abusive. Most people do not bear arms for the sake of military purposes, most people bear arms for the use of the protection of themselves and family. When the Constitution was written over 200 years ago I’m sure people used weapons for that purpose as well, but in terms of strict interpretation that isn’t what it says, the Constitution states that a regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state. In the eyes of strict interpretation this amendment may be a limited statement. Going back to the fact that the Constitution was written over 200 years ago while the country didn’t have an organized army, the fact that militias were quickly organized or thrown together as needed would mean that men would have to have their arms at home (where they could serve a double purpose). As explained above, the relevancy of the Constitution depends on the interpretation of the word.
The Constitution is still relevant in today’s law making. Because the government checks to make sure laws are Constitutional the Constitution must be relevant. If none of the laws passed were Constitutional then we would either need to remove the judicial branch as they are not doing their job and there would be no need for them, or we would have to remake the Constitution to make it relevant.
The Idea behind if the Constitution is still relevant today is a very interesting question and can go either way varying by interpretation. Specifically the definition or interpretation of the word relevance. The word relevance Can the constitution still be undermined in certain cases and still be Relevant?. This is the ultimate question which I will explain through details. The Constitution in essence of the present is NOT relevant in the matter of numerous reasons. The constitution is constantly being undermined or violated be people and even the Government at times and goes un-noticed during these instances. As added onto the US. Constitution was the bill of rights. Many of the rights that are written down in the bill of rights is undermined, most commonly the Amendment of the Searches and seizures law, which only limits the federal/ any form of governmental institution to search a person’s private belongings or property only with a warrant for a search or probable cause. This Is being violated by the government all the time as many officials undoubtedly search vehicles and property of citizens with no warrant whatsoever. Also pertaining to the idea of probable cause, this concept is brutally abused by officials through racial profiling and very demeaning activities which worsen the social and political stature of the nation and even the world. This type of doing can have a significant impact in today’s world as if not the biggest, one of the biggest crisis we face today is the idea of Dehumanization and racial profiling and such actions with governmental officials and political enforcers encourages or advocates this Impact. Another example of a common undermining of the constitution/ the bill of rights is the 2nd amendment which is the right to bear arms… (Only with a license of course). This law which is KEY to safety of others does significantly undermine the constitution in many ways. It undermines in the idea of that it is directly disobeying the clause of owning and/or operating a weapon without proper credentials or proper identification. It not only does this it also demeans the idea of the common welfare and many other liberties that are stated in the constitution as it is the GOVERNMENTS right to protect others actions from harming or disrupting another’s. Another example of the constitution being irrelevant is the Death penalty. Under the clause of cruel and unusual punishment of the Death penalty itself. Many have found it as a major disobedience of this clause and should be outlawed on the land. Although this topic of the death penalty has been hotly debated for a very long time many people of the country believe that the idea of sentencing someone to get killed would be a very cruel punishment no matter what his actions were. The idea of the constitution being RELEVANT rather than irrelevant is that through its major principles. These major principles include the ideas on It is that it is still a document of power and stature that represents the power of the government itself. Although this is true the constant and repetitive ridiculing of the laws on the constitution OUTWEIGHS the benefits because of the fact that there are numerous accounts of violations which continuously undermine the authoritative power of the constitution itself. The relevance of the constitution and the state that it is in right now needs to be reformed in a sense of more compliance of people and their duties. Therefore the relevancy of the Constitution itself is constantly descending due to the pure ignorance of elected officials and people of power, Radical changes need to be done to change this trend in our all-powerful document of which we have abided by since the birth of our nation itself.
Yes the constitution is still relevant but it needs major changes maybe even making things looser our country is so much different than when it started. The right to bear arms for example back then I don’t think people where going into public areas and shooting everyone like in Colorado. Now we need more strict laws and maybe take that out of the constitution. For example when you have a baby you give a baby certain rules when there little, but as they grow up they get different sets of rules you add things. Like” Don’t touch the plugs” but when there older they can touch the plug (to plug things in). As people grow and mature you need to add different things to accommodate them and all the new things about them. Another thing is voting. But from what I got from the constitutional everyone should be able to vote but it seems like politicians ( Republicans) are working there butts off to take that away from everyone to me that is unconstitutional you shouldn’t be able to pass laws to restrict the very thing that our country was built on . That also effects the common good part of our constitutional you can’t get the promote the common good if common people are being disenfranchised to vote. Country is working fine with the shootings and making it hard for people to vote but I think it is time to maybe start rethinking it. Make some amendments but with the track that it seems where on the government will have to start rethinking because people are abusing the constitutional and the laws and getting away with it. I think the Judicial Branch needs more power so they don’t have to wait for a law suit to get things handle.
The constitution is still relevant today because it is a document that our four fathers created about 200 years ago which states the laws and rules that American citizens must live by. The constitution was made after the revolutionary war when America had won its independance from Great Britain and we were starting to officially govern ourselves. The creators of the constitution decided that in order to get away from having a king or one person with complete and ultimate power, the solution was to have a bycameral congress with one big house, the senate, where each state had two representatives and the smaller house, the house of representatives, where the number of congressmen for each state depended on that states population. They also made the three branches of government which consisted of checks and balances so that one form of the government didn’t have all the power. The three branches are the Executive branch, the Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch. The president is the commander-and-chief of the executive branch and he has the right to pass or veto laws made by the legislative branch. If a law made by the legislative branch is tested by someone then it can be sent to the supreme court where the supreme court justicies look at the amendments listed within the constitution and then they have to decide wither the law is constitutional, or unconstitutional. The bill of rights that was added to the constitution at the end of the 18th century is what tells American citizens the rights and freedoms that we are entitled to. Every part of the constitution is a guideline for how we should live our lives and what rules we have to follow.