Constitutional Illiteracy

The Constitution of the United States is the founding document of our country. It was painstakingly constructed by our founders after a lot of give, take, discussion, debate, and negotiation. It defines the best form of government this world has ever known.

The Constitution defines our system of government. It defines the role of the Federal Government in our Union. Anything not explicitly stated as a responsibility of the Federal Government in this document is the responsibility of the individual states, their state level governments, and their populations.

There is an alarming lack of knowledge and understanding of the Constitution by our elected officials, and it has been this way for years. Our current President, everyone I've heard speak in his cabinet, the leadership of the House and the Senate, the vast majority of Democrats serving in federal office, and quite a few Republicans have absolutely no idea what is in this document or its meaning, and how it is supposed to be applied to how the government runs. Pretty damn sad ....

For instance, I'll use abortion as an example. Without choosing a side on the issue itself, I'll state this as an absolute fact - there is no Constitutional right for a woman to have an abortion. Nowhere in the Constitution does the word 'abortion' appear. As such, laws concerning abortion are the responsibility of the individual states to decide. That's a fact, that's how our government is defined to work - yet somehow we've allowed people in charge to twist things around so that many Americans think that the Constitution gives them that right.

That's just an example ...

Our Founders foresaw the need for the Constitution to be changed and updated as time goes on. Constitutional Amendments can be made to clarify, add, or even change the responsibilities of the Federal Government. The process is simple but lengthy - an Amendment is passed by both the House and Senate, and then if it is ratified by 2/3 of the states, it becomes part of the Constitution. The reason for the high standard for ratification is simple - Amendments are serious business, and not to be taken lightly.

The idiots running our Federal Government now don't have a clue on this. They only believe in the Constitution when it suits there needs. They misquote it, misrepresent it, and misuse it constantly. they flat ignore it most of the time.

I propose that every person running for a federal office be tested on their knowledge of the Constitution and government structure. No pass, no play, so to speak ...

Currently, any fool who can buy, steal, or cheat his/her way into Congress can do so without having to know anything about how it works, or how it is supposed to work.

All elected federal office holders take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution - too bad they have no idea what that Constitution is.

First person I'd test - Obama - it is clear he hasn't got a clue, or more likely just sees the Constitution as a road block to his agenda. He sure doesn't have any intent to abide by it.