CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
Our constitution was written in the 18th Century, with such different conditions than today that we are operating this nation with some obsolete standards. This precious, important document was written in the 1770ies when primitive transportation and communication were extremely difficult and slow. The country consisted of 13 colonies, whose total area consisted of about one tenth of the present continental United States and a population hardly the size of an average town today. Some individuals are effectively harming this democracy by taking advantage of these antiquated rules. Several changes to the Constitution should be made to correct this situation.
National issues were in stark contrast to what the nation faces currently. Limiting the length of term in public office wasn’t a factor because of the sacrifice required to serve in those days; long difficult and dangerous trips to the capital with slow, inefficient communication with their businesses and families. The Electoral College election system was conceived to overcome the difficulty of voting, vote counting, and communicating with the Federal Government. The requisites for legislation were uncomplicated so restrictions were unnecessary; nor were sunset laws even considered with so few laws in force. Serving as a Supreme Court Justice was so difficult because of the travel requirements and life spans were so much shorter that tenure was established for these justices. At that time, the young political parties hadn’t developed the extreme rivalry and contentiousness of today so that the confirmation process, the budget, and other governmental procedures didn’t have any parameters.
Our forefathers were determined to give this radical experiment in democracy time to be effective. They didn’t foresee a nation of 50 states. Consequently, amending the Constitution was made extremely difficult if not impossible to achieve. Wisely, as insurance against the severe amendment restrictions, they provided for constitutional conventions if there was a need to modernize and adjust this document.
Thus far, in the life span of this democracy, a constitutional convention hasn’t been assembled. It is time to utilize this provision to bring this document into the 21st Century and close some of the loopholes that people are abusing.