During swearing-in ceremonies, new members of the U.S. military make the poignant pledge to defend the Constitution of the United States. Nowadays, that pledge might call them to some surprising places, such as the inner chambers of the United States Supreme Court.
No less than a Supreme Court Justice herself was quoted disparaging the document that has brought a higher level of personal liberty to citizens than any nation in history. “I would not look to the United States Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012,” said Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
What, exactly does she find unsatisfactory in the U.S. Constitution? Academics such as David Law and Sanford Levinson cite its minimalist list of basic rights, lacking guarantees for food, health care, and education, but quaintly guaranteeing the right to bear arms. Ginsburg doesn't herself say directly in this interview, only inferring that our Constitution is deficient in its establishment of "basic human rights." South Africa, she opines, does a better job. Would that she would move there, and open a seat on the bench for someone who truly understands the U.S. Constitution and the nature of reality. It is an amazing thing to be guaranteed the pursuit of happiness. Only nations headed for bankruptcy attempt to guarantee its attainment.
1 comments:
And she swore to
"...support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same..."
She sounds a bit like a few clerics I know who are obliged to preach on the Gospel from the first century, but they would rather write a new one for this century, one they could really believe in.
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