Is the Constitution a 'Living Document?'

CPT Richard Riley — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 10:20:10 -0400

Do contracts exist as living documents? Can you change the interest rate on your mortgage or other provisions as the financial situation changes? In order to do so you need to renegotiate with the lender. The Founding Fathers knew that the people would have to have a method of making changes in the Constitution from time to time. For the government to change the meaning of the Constitution would be like having an attorney that is working for the lender to arbitrarily change the terms of your mortgage contract without your consent. They provided for these changes to be made using the Amendment process. To say that the Constitution is a living document provides these would be usurpers of power an insidious way to change it simply by interpreting it differently. The Constitution is based upon the Declaration of Independence and the eternal truth contained in it. The principles of the unalienable rights have always been true and will continue to be. To circumvent the amendment process and make changes by interpretation rather than by Constitutional Amendment is how our government officials have tricked and swindled the American people for decades. The Constitution and the paper it is written on is currently receiving life support but the principles upon which it was written will never die as long there are men and women that yearn to be free.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Oct 4 at 2014 12:08 PM

SGT Richard H. — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 12:08:23 -0400

I don't subscribe to the notion that the Constitution is a living document. It was forged in such a manner that yes, it can be added to, but not taken away from....and there are some pretty stringent requirements for what it takes to add an Amendment.

Bottom Line: The executive, legislative, and judicial branches all swear an oath of office, just like we do, with this in common:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic"

Response by SSG Gerhard S. made Nov 9 at 2014 12:26 AM

SSG Gerhard S. — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 00:26:45 -0500

I agree with you both... The Constitution is NOT a "living document" it is a defining document, and cannot be altered, only amended. Our Framers wisely wanted us to leave the blemishes on it by forbidding alteration so that we could go back to see our mistakes, lessening the opportunity to repeat them. Our politicians all too often manage to screw even that up, clearly because they wish to ignore the mistakes, or to remain ignorant of the Constitution itself. I remember in January 2013 the 113th Congress recited the Constitution on the House floor and many of the blemishes relating to slavery were omitted. This is exactly the behavior the Framers were hoping to avoid. Ignoring, omitting, or pretending parts of the document don't exist circumvents the intent of leaving those blemishes in the Document.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2014 7:23 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 07:23:43 -0500

"The Constitution is based upon the Declaration of Independence and the eternal truth contained in it. The principles of the unalienable rights have always been true and will continue to be."

Uhm... neither of these documents were intended to provide "unalienable rights" to blacks at the time they were written. Also, people like Adams were adamantly against the type of voting we have today. He wanted only land owning white males to vote for state legislatures, and those elected at the state level would then select a president without any popular vote by the people.

Response by SFC Vernon McNabb made Nov 9 at 2014 8:42 AM

SFC Vernon McNabb — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 08:42:41 -0500

Yes, she is. She may be old. She may be fragile. She doesn't speak as loudly as she used to, but she does speak. People these days take her for granted, or ignore her altogether. But she is alive, and we are all taught to respect our elders. So damnit, respect her. She is the one, we as Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are sworn to defend.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2014 12:22 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 12:22:42 -0500

I was thinking about this topic while driving to the auto store this morning and wanted to add a few points...

In my opinion, the constitution is very much a "living document". This idea that all the founders "agreed" on the text is completely wrong. During the writing, there were 2 very clear sides - the Jeffersonians were all about state's rights and limited federal power, and then there were people like Hamilton who not only wanted a strong federal government, but wanted things like a "president elected for life". Hamilton (and Washington and Adams to a significant degree) wanted a very strong federal government that had many powers over the states. Jefferson and his supporters wanted extremely limited federal power and almost all other powers delegated to states.
James Madison was of the opinion early on that the constitution was pointless and would lead to a dissolution of the republic, because nobody could agree on the terms of power. As the drafting went on however, he realized that, as a result of the disagreement, the text of the constitution was being written intentionally vague. He realized that the ambiguity and the ability of all sides to interpret the constitution according to their own beliefs was what would make it work. The constitution isn't a set of rules as much as it's a basis for conversation.

Response by SGT Edward Valiket made Dec 28 at 2014 3:21 AM

SGT Edward Valiket — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 03:21:44 -0500

Thank you for writing this Captain,it is not a living document but a defining document to guide us as we move forward not to be changed when it no longer fits our agenda

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2015 5:10 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 17:10:40 -0500

Well do you have a lease on property? Is that a fixed immutable agreement? Or is it subject to reinterpretation depending on the particular circumstances of the moment? Every lease I've ever signed has meant what it says and said what it meant, clear and simple.
I wish we had constitutional lawyers who took the same approach to the constitution. But do we have such men and women officers of the court today? I think legal practice is all about searching for weasel slippery words to twist and distort the law to fit the prevailing attitudes about whatever hot button issue you care to cite.

Response by SFC Pete Meyer made Mar 2 at 2015 9:18 PM

SFC Pete Meyer — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 21:18:20 -0500

No it is not...

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2016 11:59 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 23:59:35 -0400

Yes!

Response by MSG Jay Jackson made Mar 31 at 2017 10:33 AM

MSG Jay Jackson — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 10:33:50 -0400

I think that it is a living document due the adaptive qualities it was written with. Look at the example of cars and horses. When she was written, the horse was the favored mode of travel across the nation. Today we have cars as the individuals primary mode to get around. While the USC does not mention eithier item specifically, they are called property in the USC. Times may change but we still have property and we cannot be deprived of it without due process. This would apply to guns, cell phones, etc.

Response by Maj John Bell made Nov 2 at 2018 9:48 AM

Maj John Bell — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 09:48:06 -0400

Unfortunately, I think the wall is pink, my wife thinks it is mauve, my son thinks thinks it is rose, my daughter thinks it is coral, the neighbor thinks it is pale red. But the cat KNOWS it is salmon. Happy thoughts.

Response by LTC Stephan Porter made Nov 17 at 2018 6:03 AM

LTC Stephan Porter — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 06:03:58 -0500

No!