The Constitution and Our Founding Fathers

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The Constitution and Our Founding Fathers

For a majority of Americans the U.S. Constitution

(w/ the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of

Independence) is viewed almost as a holy document.

These pieces of wood pulp decorated with some

borderline poetic text have been elevated to a level

which prevents us from drastically changing them for

fear of being accused of being blasphemous. While I

don't question the true value of these documents, I

do question our reasons for keeping them in place.

Do we revere these documents because they came from

such great men, or is it because we fear what might

happen to our society in the event that we do

drastically change them. Must the ideals be written

down to be validated or do they exist regardless of

where, how, and if they are displayed. If, as stated,

“we hold these truths to be self-evident”, then why

must they be put on paper? Shouldn’t those truths

have been the foundation upon which a successful

constitution was drafted rather than an after-thought?

If our “creator” (or whom-ever) endowed us with certain

inalienable rights, then shouldn’t those rights been

the primary concern during the constitutional

conventions. The fact is that the U.S. Constitution

came first while our inalienable rights were pulling

up the rear. The primary concern of our “Founding

Fathers” was the good of the nation as a whole, not

each of us as individuals. Our world has changed in so

many ways that one should question if our “Founding

Fathers” could even recognize the U.S. in the year

2000. With the break-neck pace of the informational

age (revolution...?) shouldn’t we begin to reclaim our

rights and ultimately our power from the national

government rather than submit any further? In a world

where the Internet appears to be the “way of the future”

why do we still insist that the government is best left

up to the few chosen officials. Granted we play a part

in our government via “watch-dogs” (press & whistle-

blowers) and elections, but couldn’t we more effectively

govern on a much more individual level. At this point

in time I don’t feel as if my opinion truly counts

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