This is a very dangerous way to view the Constitution. The burden is on the groups who claim that a given practice commonly held legal in 1789 and well beyond is "unenlightened" or "rendered inhumane by progress." Witness the onset of marriage redefinition activism. Clearly marriage is for rearing children according to anyone with any reasonable interpretation of the concept. Yet simply having an intimate relationship is suddenly "enough" to qualify for marriage in the progressive camp, complete with state benefits and a total rewrite of every sex education curriculum in the entire public school system.
For example, what does "Congress shall make no law..." mean?
This is very easy to understand given the writings of our most prolific and articulate founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and others. The intent is far short of what the typical FReeper believes it means. But injecting religious establishment into the Constitution by artificial transfusion is a convenient mechanism for defending culture against the revisionist hordes. And yes, they are savage hordes worthy of the name "hun."
The founding fathers were not secular humanists. They didn't believe in the incorruptible goodness of their fellow human beings; they believed in Calvinist and Enlightenment notions of power corrupting absolutely and knew an obligation to restrain individual authority on that basis with checks and balances. They did not believe that "social progress" would solve social problems rooted in human nature. Their form of humanism posited that restraints on the state and on individual authority combined with spiritual (if Deist) sincerity would produce ideal conditions in which liberty could flourish. But once anyone violated those boundaries, self-defense for those whose rights he had violated became a duty, and later the state was obligated to try him by a jury of his peers and remove him from his community.
We are a nation of laws, not men. Think about that very carefully. It's a very profound statement. The same notion of "reinterpreting" the Constitution has permitted judges, legislators, and executive offices in many states (including California's) to abandon the second amendment because it's inconvenient to some modern ideals of peacability.
Reinterpreting the Constitution is going to destroy the Republic.
Reinterpreting the Constitution is going to destroy the Republic.
Indeed it will, and imho, it has already started to do so.
I recently ran across this very generalized comment on the basics of our Constitution. - I'd bet that a majority of the FReepers on this board would not agree with all of its points, points that should be clear to anyone who has read the document:
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The Constitution of the United States
The U.S. Constitution is the central instrument of all levels of government in the USA and the "supreme law of the land".
It is the oldest written Constitution in the world that is in force. It was written in 1787 in Philadelphia by the Continental Congress of the new American republic and was officially adopted in 1789.
The objective of the writers was to outline the structure of a new, strong central government after the years of weakness and chaos resulting from the preexisting "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union" which loosely bound the colonies together since 1778.
The U S Constitution outlines the structure and powers of the 3 branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial) and the 3 levels of government (federal, state, local).
The basic principles of the Constitution are the same today as when it was written:
1--The 3 branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial) are separate and each is checked and balanced off by the power of the other two, and by the powers of the States and the people.
2--The U S Constitution is supreme.
3-All persons are equal before the law, as are all States. Each State must have a republican form of government and respect the law of other States, and the individual rights of the people.
4--The people can only change the U S Constitution by the methods and according to the principles outlined within it.