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I went all through school without having been required to read the Constitution.

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No Elephants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-03-13 07:35 AM
Original message
I went all through school without having been required to read the Constitution.
Edited on Thu Oct-03-13 07:37 AM by No Elephants
I have since remedied that. It is not a long document. If you try really hard, you could could probably print on a single page, both sides. (which is why I rofl when a poster insisted that his copy was "well-thumbed"). Still, I can't say I remember every word, so I check it often before I discuss any particular provision of it.

You would assume, wouldn't you, that members of Congress and the WH do the same? After all, everyone in the WH works for the one person the Constitution requires to take an oath to defend and protect the Constitution.

And, members of Congress decided a long time ago that they should take their own oaths. How on earth do you vow to support the Constitution unless you know what it says? Is taking of the oath nothing more than a photo op?

After the 2010 mid-term, Yam American (tips hat to Colbert) John Boehner and the rest of the members of Congress went through an elaborate charade of reading the Constitution aloud (on camera, of course), with each member reading a bit of it aloud. Problem is, it was a charade. They were not even paying attention to what they reading. They were missing a page and no one even noticed.

These are the people whose job it is not to pass unconstitutional laws, yet they cannot be arsed to even read the Constitution, let alone grapple with it to make sure they keep their oaths.

Why am I posting this today? If I say, Enthusiast will get mad at me. But, trust me, I have evidence that at least one member of Congress never read it. Not only that, but she does not even get that she should be embarrassed to reveal that she never read it.

Why raise this at all? Because I am so tired of one Congress after another and one Administration after another undermining the Constitution. If they don't read it, how will they uphold it?

So, back to school. IMO, every high school student should be given a copy of the Constitution to keep forever. It's not expensive. The thing is all over the internet. Just print it out. Same for the Constitution of their respective states. (Dare I admit that I have not read my own state's yet?) They need to know what their rights are.

And every new member of Congress should have to take a quiz on the Constitution of the United States. (Imagine, at one point in our history, we were testing voters on their reading ability and their knowledge of the law, but not members of Congress.)
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Enthusiast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-04-13 04:29 AM
Response to Original message
1. Maybe they should take a quiz before their election.
Their score could be widely available on TV and print media. And Fox "News" would not be allowed to switch the scores. Progress! How about that for a fantasy?
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No Elephants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-04-13 08:01 AM
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2. In order to qualify for a primary ballot is even better. Why spend all that
money on a primary, only to nominate a candidate who can't qualify for the general.

BTW, for the same reasons, I think they should have to prove age and whatever else the Constitution requires before they can get on a primary ballot, too.

The more we hold them to the Constitution, the better, IMO. (As Obama can no longer run, I hope no one calls me a racist or a birther because I want the Constitution respected.)
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