Here's The Plan for the New Constitution

In his first inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson referred to the “essential principals of our government which ought to shape its Administration.”  These principals were defined in our Declaration Of Independence and Constitution.  Jefferson went on to say:

“These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment.  They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civil instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety.”

 

Note the last part of the last sentence: “should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety.”  I think it is time for us to “regain the road”.

The Great American Experiment, as with any experiment, is based on certain assumptions. The Experiment has come to the point where the major assumptions have proven right and a few problems need to be fixed so they don’t ruin the whole Experiment.

I will be writing a series of articles/comments/papers about the New Constitution.  My current plan is to begin at the top of the New Constitution and work my way through it a major section at a time to cover the highlights and organization, then go back section/idea/thought at a time to discuss the details.  I hope to issue one of these “papers” daily but I can’t guarantee it particularly if one paper generates a lot of input from those of you who give me feedback.  I will try to respond to the feedback immediately.

One reason I want to begin at the top of the New Constitution and work my way down is that I tried to organize it in a top-down fashion, ie the highest level of thinking first with the details following…that organization just seemed logical to my systems analyst/programmer mind.

My plan is to thoroughly discuss and get feedback from you by December 25^th.  If I make significant changes to the New Constitution before then, I will put an updated version (with version number as can found at bottom of every page) at www.HeroesOfHistory.net/New%20Constitution.pdf; changes from the prior versions will be highlighted in yellow.

After the cutoff on December 25^th, I will complete any changes to the New Constitution and publish the final document on January 1, 2012.  The final version of the New Constitution will be ready for ratification in an up-or-down vote just like the original Constitution was submitted.  I will also publish a proposed amendment to our current Constitution which causes the New Constitution to replace it.

After publication, we will see if enough people are in favor of ratifying the New Constitution to start the process of amending the current Constitution.

Enough said.  Let’s get on with it.  Next: The Preamble.