“You’re quite right, and so am I, that it doesn’ matter what they intended”
Actually, I think what the Framers intended is absolutely, fundamentally critical. You say it doesn’t matter. Your view defines the Living Constitution approach. That puts you at loggerheads to conservatism and squarely in the liberal camp.
No, that is where you want to put me.
I’ve noticed that it is a tendency of some FReepers to accuse those that don’t agree with them of being liberals, and I have seen go back to DU well more than once.
You don’t seem to understand my point.
How does what they intended matter versus what we willingly did to ourselves?
They built a boat for us, so to speak, and set us asail with all the tools needed to guide ourselves to our destination. Sadly, along the way, we adopted a new heading, and only we can course correct back to our original heading.
They aren’t here to steer the ship they built for us, we are. The decisions we make will determine whether or not we sink or float. It is the same way we can read the Bible and choose to live our lives as such, or not, and then experience the consequences.
It is the same way our parents can share their wisdom with us, and we can either learn from it or ignore it.
It is free will.
And if a free people refuses to guard its own freedom, then those people will not be free.