My response to a "dead Constitution" person on another board

[LuckyTheDog]

This is my response to a guy who said that "libs see things in the constitution that nobody else saw for 200 years." I thought some people might want to comment on this:

I totally reject the idea that Constitutional principles cannot be applied to the modern world. Yes, it IS true that the First Amendment was written when the "press" meant newspaper publishers using presses that were turned by hand. But to suggest that the "dead document" does not apply to journalists using desktop publishing or the Web -- simply because those technologies did note exist in the 1780s -- would be complete nonsense.

The same holds true for the rest of the Constitution. The principles need to be applied to today's world. And they were meant to be. The framers NEVER intended the ideas in the Bill of Rights to be frozen in time to apply only to situations that existed in the 18th century. That is where the radical, activist right wingers go wrong. It is not "originalist" in any way to say that the Constitution cannot be applied to the modern world.

[ret5hd]

1. Flintlocks and black powder cannons!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. What keeps the Constitution fresh

is that it can be amended when it needs to be--but the process isn't easy. That way, truly important things can be added, like the 13th Amendment. And if an experiment doesn't work, like Prohibition, it can be amended out of existence. But to throw away a document that has successfully steered our nation through war and peace for over 200 years---what would you replace it with? Tired despotism and cronyism? If your answer is yes, I suggest you read the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. You'll learn what the DUTY of citizens are when despotism rears its ugly head.

[Lint Head]

3. You are correct. the Constitution is written in a relative manner.

The press is the press no matter what tool is used. A pencil or and HTML document. Freedom of speech is freedom of speech.
Modern technology is being used by modern fascists as another excuse to amend the Constitution to suppress the peoples freedoms and rights. It's being used the same same way fear is being used.

:dem:

[zbdent]

4. Didn't the Constitution allow for changes to the Constitition?

And don't many of these "libs see things in Const. that nobody ..." tend to forget that the 2nd amendment begins with "A well-regulated militia" (well-regulated ... hmm ... Repukes are all against regulating anything but the 1st amendment)?

And libs saw that ending slavery was a good thing ...

[CrispyQ]

5. It's a living document.

Article V
Amending the Constitution

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
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Friends of the Article V Convention (FOAVC)

http://article-5.org/

snip...

Hello. Welcome to Friends Of the Article V Convention (FOAVC). We are a non-partisan association of American citizens from every state in our Republic comprised of a broad range of occupations, ethnicities, religious affiliations and political persuasions. Our common bond is a deep commitment to preserving the values and principles embodied in our founding documents - the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution - upon which this nation was founded.

Article V of the Constitution of the United States provides that "on the application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments..." The Founding Fathers of our nation recognized the importance of providing this means by which the citizens of our country could initiate amendments to change and/or clarify the Constitution, the fundamental document which they intended to be not only the blueprint for our federal system but also "the supreme Law of the Land".