By: Robert Jay
CALL A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION! The necessary two-thirds majority of the states have signaled their approval. Please refer to the Wall Street Journal, May 3, 1995, Page A-15.
As John Locke said in his Second Treatise in 1689: "People are not so easily got out of their old Forms, as some are apt to suggest. They are hardly to be prevailed with to amend the acknowledg'd (sic) Faults, in the Frame they have been accustom'd (sic) to. And if there be any original defects, or adventitious (sic) ones introduced by time, or corruption; 'tis (sic) not an easier thing to get them changed, even when all the World sees there is an opportunity for it."
Thomas Jefferson regarded the Constitution less reverentially than current influential Pooh-Bahs. In 1816 he wrote:
"Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, and deem them
like the arc [sic] of the covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe
to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human, and suppose what
they did to be beyond amendment. I knew that age well; I belonged to it,
and labored with it; it deserved well of its country. It was very like the
present, but without the experience of the present; and forty years of
experience in government is worth a century of book-reading; and this they
would say themselves were they to rise from the dead."
The Constitution was the first attempt to codify rules for a nation. But we have had a couple-hundred years of experience. Some of the Constitution is no longer valid. The nation is no longer tormented by slavery, consequently statements debasing the black population should be excised. The landless and women have their franchise. In 1787 we were a pastoral society with a total 13-state population one-half the size of present New York City. We were the only republic surrounded by inherited monarchies. We have added 37 states in six time zones with approximately 250 million additional people. Our culture has changed dramatically. If Congress would call for a constitutional Convention the Amendments that have come so close to succeeding could be passed on to the states for ratification. We should seriously consider updating our noble first attempt.
There are many basic issues that a vast majority of the population want, and Congress is unable to enact. For starters:
For more information than I can provide here, please refer to "The 21st Century Constitution by Barry Krusch and "Do We Need A New Constitution?" by Gerald Leinwand.
The only remaining hurdle is for both houses of Congress, by a simple majority, to call for a Constitutional Convention (at your urging).
Sincerely,
Robert Jay, aka gadfly@mail.iswest.com
474 E. Wilbur Rd.#104,
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Tel.# 805.495-8207
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