Politicians and judges on the left like to claim that the U.S. Constitution is a "living document."
By this, they mean that the Constitution can be reinterpreted without regard for what its framers intended. As a "living" document, the Constitution can change with the times, and we can find in its text whatever rights and privileges match our current moment.
You already know the damage this kind of thinking has done to our system of government. The "living document" theory is why Supreme Court fights are so intense. If justices can interpret the Constitution however they see fit, it's of vital importance who sits on the bench.
But Convention of States Project endorser Ben Shapiro has another take. In his excellent Introduction to the U.S. Constitution, Ben argues that the Constitution is a living document -- just not in the way the leftists think:
The Constitution is, indeed, a living document. But it lives not through the cynical and dishonest reinterpretation of its doctrines to meet particular political ends today. It lives because it is alive in our very system: our understanding of our own rights, the confined delegation of powers to government, the checks and balances of the system, the federalist tension. And it lives most of all, because its view of humanity was and is true: we are not angels, and we are not devils. We are human beings, with the equality of rights inherent in that status – and with all the flaws and petty ambitions of human beings. Our system sees human beings for what they are, and seeks to thwart our evil and bolster our good.
That is the legacy of the Constitution, and the legacy of America. Neither the Constitution nor America were or are perfect. But they are the best any human society has yet accomplished. And here’s the best part: we’re part of that chain of history. It is our job to help preserve and strengthen that “more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
The Framers couldn't have predicted their Constitution would be so successful, but they did understand human nature. They knew that no human-created document is perfect, which is why they included Article V.
Article V allows the Constitution to be amended as long as those amendments have the support of a vast majority of the American people. Amendments can be proposed either by two-thirds of Congress or at a Convention of States called by two-thirds of the states. Once those amendment proposals are passed, they go back to the states, where they require three-quarters of the states to be ratified.
This process allows the Constitution to change but only if those changes are supported by We the People.
Today, our Constitution needs some tweaking -- but not in order to "keep up with the times." Our Constitution needs tweaking in order to, as Shapiro argues, protect and preserve the values and principles that have made our nation great.
Leftist activists in Congress and on the courts have for decades perverted the words of the Framers to advance their own agenda. Those perversions need to be corrected, and an Article V Convention of States is the only way to do that.
Congress will never propose the amendments our country needs. But the states can, and already 15 states have called for a Convention of States.
At this Convention, states can propose amendments that limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, impose fiscal restraints on Congress, and mandate term limits for federal officials. These amendments won't change our system of government -- they will restore it to how the Framers originally envisioned.
Millions of Americans have voiced their support, and over 1.7 million have signed the Convention of States Petition. Will you join them, and join the fight to "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity"?
