No cafeteria constitution
Although you wouldn't know it by news coverage, today is Constitution day. You would think this would be an important date, but that's not the case. Americans seem to have taken the Constitution for granted. The results is apathy. Blatant violations of the constitution are met with little more than yawns - or tirades by a few who no one listens to.
That's not to say Americans are ignorant of the constitution. They are quick to raise it when it's important to their particular cause. Look at those advocating gun rights, or freedom or religion. The problem I see is that people don't see the constitution as a whole. They argue for the right to possess AK-47's, but ignore blatant violations of the right to free from unreasonable search and seizure. Unless of course the government decides to come search their house.
Catholics have coined a phrase "cafeteria catholics" - those people who pick and choose which part of church doctrine they are going to accept. That's a different discussion, but there are very few who accept church doctrine across the board - for example the right to life, which includes not only abortion but also the death penalty. The same -is true for the constitution - we have people who pick and choose what provisions they support - the rest they either ignore, or want to change.
The constitution was adopted as a complete document - after full and complete discussion and argument. It wasn't a guide for best practices, but a guide for the minimal guarantees all Americans should have. It has power only as long as it is honored in its entirety.
So on constitution day, how about we read the constitution, and renew our commitment to it. In case you don't know where to find, here's a link.
