A New Constitution
Now more than ever, we must rewrite the Constitution and Rights of the United States. A constitution is only a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a divine document as White Christian Nationalists (WCN) believe, and it was never intended to be such a document.
Despite this, during recent testimony at the January 6 hearings, on June 21, 2022, Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers stated that “It is a tenet of my faith that the Constitution is divinely inspired.” This sentiment was supported by Representative Liz Cheney, a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate Jan. 6. She stated “we were reminded by Speaker Bowers that our Constitution is indeed a divinely inspired document.”
The Constitution was not written by or with any divine help, however. A constitution is a practical, malleable document. The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights was initiated by James Madison (with lots of help and advice from his servants, wife, family, and friends of course). It has been compiled and added to over time with new sections called “Amendments.” These Amendments no longer serve us as a nation. The authors of the first American Constitution never considered the vast majority of persons in the United States when composing this document. One pivotal figure in the early composition of the United States government, Thomas Jefferson, believed that constitutions should expire frequently so the dead could not rule the living. He believed that the Constitution should be entirely rewritten every 19 years. This is in keeping with nearly every other nation’s position toward constitutions.
Today, the typical African constitution lasts only about 10 years, while those in Latin America average 12.4 years. Haiti writes a new constitution about every three years. European constitutions typically endure for 32 years, and those in Asia for 19 years.
You can read and access a transcript of the current Constitution of the United States Here.
Minority rule can be opposed, and patristic patriotism can be drowned out by a movement of democratic voices. The only way to reclaim our dreams is through community and conscientious revision.
Therefore I invite you to contribute your voice: Help Rewrite the Constitution.
How would you describe a constitution? What is your constitution? Your beliefs and practices? Should the Constitution be rewritten with positive rights instead of negative ones? And how do we rewrite this document together? Please provide your contributions to this conversation below.
Our collective answers appear below:
*Please allow 24 hours for your response to post. If your Constitution has not posted in 24 hours please contact krisracstudio@gmail
Submitted on: 08/04/2022 11:32:38
By: Victoria C. Anderson
"A few thoughts about the above post - When I taught APUSH I did a pretty deep dive into the writing of our Constitution, as this has always been a document that I have respected and loved. One of the historiographic schools of thought discussed was the idea that the Constitution was divinely inspired. The Jan. 6 hearings provided a real life proponent of this school of thought.
Our Constitution is truly an amazing document that did provide for the ability to adapt and change as our nation did. However, it also provided a structural foundation that is solid. The problem as I see it is the pervasive influence of originalism.
Our nation has weathered some pretty significant challenges and today is one of them. I do not believe that our Founding Fathers would approve of originalism, which is a great irony. More importantly, they understood that the nation would change and provided ways for this to happen. The creation of a strong yet balanced government that was guided by republican (small r) values that allowed for change was a great achievement. However they also recognized that there were problems with the Constitution and knew that some of the compromises would trigger significant challenges. (Despite not being at the Convention Thomas Jefferson's famous comment about ""a fire bell in the night"" regarding the admission of Missouri as a slave state in 1820.)
Interpreting the Constitution through the lens of eighteenth century men is not what was intended. Through amendments that Constitution has changed to adapt to our world, and the approval of these amendments does require huge majorities to pass and many of these amendments have been hard fought in both a literal and figurative sense.
Changes to the Constitution:
Amendment - Equality is guaranteed to any person within the jurisdiction of the nation.
Amendment - The Senate shall be composed of Senators from each State, the number of which shall not be greater that the number of Representatives from a state. The total number of Senators will be determined by both Legislative Houses but shall not be more than a third or less than a fifth of the total members in the House of Representatives. The distribution of the number of Senators per state will be based on the census."
Submitted on: 8/4/2022 10:49:34
Section 1: All legislative Powers are granted by a new Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate, an Indigenous Senate, and a House of Representatives.
Section. 2: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the by the People of the States, for four Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. The Indigenous Senate of the United States shall be composed of one Indigenous Senator from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for three Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the States. Each person chosen as a representative must be a resident of the State to which they are elected at the time of election.
*This collective action was initiated by the exhibition Die When I Dream [of] by Kris Rac