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"What?! The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Nothing is above it other than force of the people. Calling it a "statement of ideals" and "something towards which to work" diminishes it to some creed that would be a good idea to follow if we can or if circumstances allow, not as the ruling set of laws in our country."

While there are some practical parts of the Constitution, there are plenty of parts which are merely vague ideas. Look at the Bill of Rights, for example. I agree that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and you'll find that I'm all for strict adherrence to it. That being said, we've never managed to live up fully to the standards set by the Constitution. We have Americans sitting in jail without a chance to argue their innocence. We have states' rights... well, we actually don't have states' right at the moment. We certainly have plenty of censorship and gun control, plenty of unreasonable searchs, and plenty of other areas in which we fail to meet Constitutional standards.

My point is that the Constitution sets high standards in its idealistic vision for this country. From day 1, we've not met all those standards, and in our ever-changing world, it's becoming more and more complicated to meet them. There has never been a time when we've had absolute adherrence to the Constitution, and I believe that's because much of what it tells us to do is contrary to human nature. How many here have called for charges of treason and censorship when someone says something we don't want to hear? We should always follow our Constitution, but attainment of the idealistic state proposed within its pages could very well be a neverending struggle. I, for one, welcome that struggle.

As far as it being "a good idea to follow if we can or if circumstances allow", how else would you describe modern society? Do we not have two US citizens in prison without knowing the charges for which they're being held? Do we not have massive Federal programs without an ounce of Constitutional support? How much of our current system of government is perfectly Constitutional, would you say? Half? 10%? Less? How many people here a part of the choir calling for blatantly unconstitutional measures to be taken in order to 'protect' us all from terrorism? How many here call for the wholesale slaughter of anyone who appears arab or Muslim? If there's one thing humans are generally good at, it's taking actions that are most convenient.