Recently, I overheard two defendants discussing their arrest on a variety of charges. Apparently, these two gentlemen were detained for trying to steal gas from a large storage tank. The cunning plan was to repeatedly bash a metal wrench against the nozzle of the tank with the hopeful anticipation that it would produce a gush of liquid gold. (I picture them smoking as sparks flew off the wrench with each hit). The discussion eventually turned to politics as it related to their current woes. "The only reason we got arrested is because of that socialist Kenyan in the White House. They arrested us without a warrant. And did you hear that Barack HUSSEIN Obama wants to take over the census. That is a violation of Article One of the Constitution." Despite my best efforts to turn invisible, they noticed me. "Hey, you're a lawyer. Tell him. This Nazi is violating Article One of the Constitution because he wants the director of the Census Bureau to report to the White House." I thought back to my Con Law class. Article One? Was that the one that said you shouldn't covet thy neighbor's something or other? I did what any self respecting attorney would have done. "Actually, I'm a used car salesman " I answered.
As the political climate in the US heats up, it appears more and more people are becoming constitutional scholars. Added to that, many have taken to speaking like extras from the movie Braveheart. They refer to each other as fellow patriots who must rise to defend the oncoming slaught of tyranny. They tweet about what Madison's intentions were in the Federalist papers. People who normally blog about their cats suddenly post their interpretations of Supreme Court rulings. They debate the definition and the intentions of our forefathers in what constitutes a natural born citizen. Some take the debate to a fever pitch as the Glenn Becks of the world feed the flames of misinformation with scare tactics. Of course, if you're holding a misspelled sign with Obama sporting a Hitler mustache, it makes it difficult to believe you should be considered a Constitutional scholar. Call me crazy, but its difficult to take your opinion seriously when you believe secret armies are being planned to implant transmitters into people who send in their census forms. But I digress...
Don't get me wrong, its great that people are finally taking an interest the documents that built the foundation of our nation. My problem is with those who misinterpret the Constitution in an effort to inject misinformation into a highly charged debate. I agree with Justice Brennan's view that the genius of the Constitution rests not in some static meaning in a world that is dead and gone but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs.
If you're not a constitutional scholar, don't worry about it. Use your common sense. Do you really believe the government wants to unconstitutionally kill your grandmother using death panels run by illegal gay immigrant armies to fund abortions? Neither do I.
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One of the things that always grinds my gears is when people talk about how the founding fathers intended this, or the founding fathers intended that. Or the founding fathers would be rolling in their grave over something or other.
ReplyDeleteNews flash: The founding fathers were just as much a diverse and argumentative bunch as we are today. The fact that there are even Federalist papers to begin with is evidence that certain groups of people had to go out and attempt to convince everyone else of their way of thinking. Looking back at Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...their vision of what the USA would or should become are as different as night and day.
Oh, and the founding fathers would probably be losing their minds right now at the thought of an uppity negro running the country.