Before you form a committee to tar and feather us consider this: The first person to recommend a complete revision of the Constitution was Thomas Jefferson. Specifically he wanted to update the text every 19 years. His logic was: If we allow the words generated today to rule forever they will serve only those who have died a long time ago and not the needs of the current generation. He foresaw the potential obsolescence of situations as America grew into a totally different society. When we look at the Constitution today we see many examples of what President Jefferson feared. Examples include the requirement that all legal debts be repaid in gold or silver; all trials involving more than $20 must be jury trials; and there are others. If you think about it, imagine a 250+ years old document still being literally relevant. The only way that could happen would be if America had not changed during that 250+ year period. It’s important to base our rule of law and form of government on a solid constitutional foundation. But every foundation develops cracks and–without tending to those cracks–the eventual weakening would cause collapse.
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