- Published: September 10, 2022
- Updated: September 10, 2022
- University / College: The University of Manchester
- Language: English
- Downloads: 9
Human beings have a strong belief and orientation towards their freedoms. It is under these circumstances that different countries, institutions and governments have bills of rights to safeguard the interests of the people. The US is one of such nations that have a very elaborate bill of rights. Furthermore, the constitution provides for the opportunity for everyone to pursue their rights and freedoms. The Article 14 of the U. S constitution was amended so as to give more emphasis on the rights of the people. It is therefore not in order for any state in the US to call for independence call since it is already granted. Furthermore, there are the federal and state laws. All these have to agree in that one does not compromise the other. As such, the people have their freedoms and rights under check.
However, generational changes and new developments have seen to the rise of some contradictions with the constitution. This is despite the fact that the U. S has a short constitution that forms the basis for a comprehensive and democratic form of government (Anon., 1). With these collisions, it has come to a point where the big question is whether to amend the constitution to fit the current government or not to.
This essay takes the stand that the constitution should be amended to fit the current form of government. Rather, the government should seek to comply with the guidelines of the constitution. To assert this, it can be seen that the form of governance in the U. S allows for state governments. This means that the state governments can deal with their issues while considering the provisions of the constitution. As such, if the state needs to enforce any form of policies, it just has to do it in accordance with its requirements. As such, issues in one state do not affect the issues in another. This brings in some form of independence. The constitution, therefore, just acts as a document to synchronize or bring together the states.
Another issue that can hamper the change of the constitution is the long process that it can take. As Anon. (10 notes, even when the constitution was first signed, there were quite some disagreements between the countries. That was way back in 1787. Therefore, if the constitution was to be amended today, there is a great possibility that there would be rivalry among the states. The process can be quite tiring as the new constitution would have to be approved by all the states. A national referendum would also have to be conducted in order to get the consent of the entire nation.
The major drawback in this issue is that the costs involved would be too much. It makes no economic sense to carry out such a process. Secondly, there is no major reason as to why the constitution should be amended now. The current document has served the U. S since its independence. Over the years, the U. S has prospered in many areas, not only in terms of the economy but also in terms of national development. With the current constitution, the U. S has risen to the level of a super power in the world. If the document has seen the U. S grow to such levels, there is no clear understanding as to why it has to be changed. What the government needs to do is to align its policies so they lie within the constitution.
Work Cited
Anonymous. Constitution Day. 2012. Retrieved on 1st March 2012 from http://usgovinfo. about. com/blconstday. htm