SLD Blog; The Constitution

In America, everybody talks about all the freedoms we have are always being pushed down our throats. But what are they, and do we use them? Many people would say because of the way the Constitution is written we do not fully understand our freedom, and in return we do not use them to our advantage. In many ways, the Constitution is “only a framework; its not a blueprint”(doc 5, American Government,45)and causes many disputes between people.

The Bill of Rights is regarded as one of the founding documents that keep our freedom safe, but many of the “rights” are too vague. For example Article VII says, “ Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” Nowhere in this article or many of the other articles does it say what is considered excessive, or what is considered cruel. If we look back on history many people have not followed this article. For example although the slaves were not considered citizens, no where in this article states that slaves were not include, and yet the slaves still had to go through cruel punishments. This is one of the many times that the framers of the constitution had problems because they tried to “ strike a delicate balance between, on the one hand, governmental power to accomplish the great end of civil society and on the other, individual liberty.”( Doc 5,American Government,45) This ambiguity allowed the citizens of the United States feel like they had dominance over the government in this issue, but in reality it gave the government the dominance because they also had the same rights.

This ambiguity may be to the advantage to the citizens, but in reality people do not understand the rights that they have. In many ways this America is the country that has given many advantages to many citizens, especially immigrants. “Opportunity defines our heritage” ( Myths of Rich and Poor,Debating Democracy,338) in America and allows people to move up in status. This is because America has the foundation like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that allows the protection of the rights of people. However, while it is true that the constitution says that all men are created equal, why are there many people in America who tend to be more affluent than others? Some may argue that Americans think the inequality is okay. Americans believe people who have more of the education deserve to get higher pay than a high school graduate, and in fact everyone is getting richer. Rich people and poor people have both gotten better in their economic situations. While that may be true, the poor people have only made a $2000 increase in their salary in the last 30 years, while the top CEOs increased by 4 times, and this was in times of economic prosperity.

With all the inequality in a country that is supposes to be equal, why is it that no one is doing anything. The common thinking is that Americans at this present time do not care for a cause if it does not affect them. Especially with new technology and the increasing “individualism” in this country, Americans are more detached from one another, unless they have a common goal to reach. One example used by Paul Loeb was a fisherman Pete Knutson. Knutson was a person who bridged the gap between fisherman and environmentalist to help save the environment, so that the area would be preserved for future generations.

However when inequality comes to things that do not affect Americans, such as people being paid very little in Indonesia making Nike shoes, but “Michael Jordan being paid more to be in ads than all of factory workers combined”(The Active Citizen, Debating Democracy ,42) Americans tend to turn the other way. If America as a nation really believed so strongly about its constitution and freedoms that they tout so much, why is it we allow our large corporations to practically enslave people in other countries? The war in Iraq is based on the sole purpose of spreading democracy to people who were oppressed, and with the support of many American citizens they believe the war is spreading democracy. But why is it when it comes to something like not buying clothing or a $300 name brand bag from a sweatshop, Americans don’t have a sense of the oppression that they are causing by doing that. The reason why Americans do not stand up for this is because they have a mentality that if it cannot be fixed fully, they do not try to fix all of it.

This lack of speaking the issues because it cannot be fully fixed can potentially cause major stagnation of social reform. Susan B. Antony was used as an example of someone who fought for what she believed in no matter how rough the tides were .All her life she fought for women’s suffrage; although she died fourteen years before it finally became a reality her struggle inspired many people to continue her cause until it was realized. Having now attained a lot of what is considered our rights, Americans are just following the current flow of things, and not shaking anything up. Thomas Jefferson said “A little rebellion now and then...is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government” and that is why in the Bill of Rights, Article I says the people have “ the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of Grievances” so that the people do not live what they feel is unfair.

Many of today’s issues are not being as enthusiastically fought for as the issues of before. For example, for women’s suffrage Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are always regarded as the women who would organize all the women, and some men to fight for women’s suffrage at any cost. Today many of the issues such as stem cell research, and gay marriage do not have the same enthusiastic feel to it. Sure these issues may have something that is equivalent to the Seneca Falls convention, or the March on Washington (Civil Rights) but they do not have the same impact that the events of the past had. It all boils down to the non-participating American citizens that rather sit at home than make a difference.

Everything just comes around full circle in this situation because if a person has rights that although vaguely stated is a lot of power, and they fail to use it because they are confused, people in power will use the power making the inequality greater in a society. The only thing that will help this problem in America is for each citizen to understand their rights, and their limits, so that things that need to be changed can be. It is a duty that is owed to the founding fathers, who left us a “framework”, and to those who used the framework to make a difference in American Society. Technology is always blamed for this stagnation of American movement because people do not group together like they used to, but in fact there is no excuse for it to be like this. If Americans can protest with from people across the country or the world against the new Facebook layout it certainly means that they have the ability to take up more serious causes. Before technology people had to travel days or months to talk about their common grievances, but now it can be within seconds. It does not mean that everyone has to be a Susan B. Antony or Marin Luther King Jr. but at least with them supporting a cause that they believe in.

—angelo