The U.S. Constitution

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The U.S. Constitution

Article Five, clause two of the United States Constitution
states, "under the Authority of the United States, [the Constitution]
shall be the supreme law of the land." As a result of the fact that
the current activist government is pursuing inconsistent policies,
many believe the Constitution has become irrelevant because no guiding
principles seem to exist. Thomas Jefferson once said, "The
Constitution belongs to the living and not to the dead." Accordingly,
it is often referred to as a "living" document because of its regular
alteration and reexamination; therefore, the Constitution has not
become irrelevant in defining the goals of American government. This
will be shown by examining how the Constitution ensures and upholds
American ideas of rights, defines governmental structures, allows for
an increase in governmental growth, and permits the Supreme Court to
shape and define public policy through Constitutional
interpretation.
Through years of research on court cases, political scientists
are in agreement that most people favor rights in theory, but their
support diminishes when the time to put the rights into practice
arrives. For example, a strong percentage of Americans concur with
the idea of free speech throughout the United States, but when a court
case such as Texas vs. Johnson (1989) arises, most backing shifts away
from complete freedom of speech. In the case, a Texan named Gregory
Johnson set fire t...

Submitted by: digitalessays
Date Submitted: 05-10-99 4:20am
Category: Politics
Words: 2366
Pages: 9.46