Shaw's Eco-Logic

How often do you hear someone say that to fix our country, we "need to get back to the Constitution?"  Sorry, but this is a non-starter...

1.     I reject the notion that "all" the country need do is to get back to the Constitution. Upon a moment's reflection, it should be clear that this is no solution at all.

The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) gives Congress the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes." Covers a whole lot, doesn't it?

Article I, Section 8 contains 18 clauses, and here is the 18th: "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof." In other words, they can do anything they want.

Amendment XIV, Section 1 provides:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." All by itself, this little gem has given us Roe v. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges (same sex marriage).

Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the absurd notion of judicial review, thereby forever ruining the balance of powers, and making the Supreme Court the super-branch. No less an authority than Thomas Jefferson himself was dismayed at this state of affairs.

Given the four precepts described above, coupled with the reality that virtually every court decision expands, rather than limits federal power, no rational argument can be advanced that the Constitution is our saving grace.

2.     Perhaps "getting back to the Constitution" is a shorthand for the wish that we get back to some earlier Spirit of the Founders, or Spirit of America. That would be a marvelous idea, but it may be difficult to achieve in the 21st century.

Instead of a Christian country in which only property owners (aka stakeholders) could vote, we now have a "diverse" land in which a heroin addict on welfare, who has to be propped up at the polling place, has the same vote as a productive citizen.

3.     As to the military and its legitimate use, getting back to the Constitution will probably not help much. True, Article I Section 8, Clause 11 provides that Congress has the power: "To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water."

However, Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 provides that: "The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States."

Thus, the last time war was formally declared by Congress was on December 8, 1941. Of course, any number of bellicose acts subsequent to that date can be counted up. Arguably, there were plenty of them (non-declared) in the build-up to World War II, as well.

4.     Kinda makes you wonder how many of the "patriots" endlessly talking about getting back to the Constitution have even read it