The Circus Surrounding Defense and Interpretation of the US Constitution
June 3rd 2009 07:32
CIRCUS, n. A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.”
~ Ambrose Pierce
~ Ambrose Pierce
Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Children of all Ages....
What We Have in Front of You Today is Simply the Greatest Show on God's Green Earth.
A Show 233 years in the Making...
Featuring Feats of Strength in the Form of Powerful Use Of Classic Catch Phrases to Tame the Blood Thirsty Public.
Activist, Liberal and Conservative are Just a Few of the Many Terms You'll Hear Looped Over and Over Again on This Magical Night as Your Conducters Feed Raw Meat to Lions Hungry For A Meal in the Fight for Red or Blue Dominance.
As I attempt to return to a state of seriousness I can’t help but to shake my head at the shell of a once time honored tradition in the United States Government.
A process created to lift the only apolitical part of our society above the pettiness of partisan wrangling has been twisted and turned into a three issue dog and pony show.
The only issues that matter in the modern day nomination process can be boxed into the categories of God, Guns and Abortion.
These are the first questions we ask when an unknown man or woman is nominated to the highest court in the land.
Our simplicity even goes so far as to exploit a nominee’s race, gender and sexual orientation soon after we’ve flipped them upside down and shaken them thoroughly for a the slightest tinge of liberal or conservative bias.
Is this the society our forefathers envisioned for us?
What ever happened to seeking out Supreme Court Justices that will honor the intent of the Constitution?
What we have is a witch hunt where we point fingers based on which party is doing the nominating, aim our weapons and try to destroy any credibility built over a long career simply because someone from our party didn’t make the choice.
This archaic battle is the same no matter if the President is a Republican or a Democrat.
We ignore the signs and dig deep in the closet for our red or blue banners in the fox hunt for simple answers of yes or no.
Is this Justice Pro Life or Pro Choice?
Does this Justice believe in Gun Rights or Gun Control?
What’s their religion?
How do they interpret the line between the Separation of Church and State?
The list goes on and on as we seek the person who will make us sleep better at night instead of finding the right person at the right time who will defend and honor the one document that protects all of our basic freedoms.
The litmus test of simplicity scares me because it allows us to be lazy as a society.
When a Supreme Court nominee comes down the pike that is truly an activist looking to push liberal or conservative agendas, he or she has a better shot of being nominated by whoever controls the power in government at the time.
Power…
Isn’t that what it’s all about?
This is the world we’ve created.
The world where we’ve lost our sense of where the middle is…
Our eyes and ears are closed off from listening to or understanding what’s going on with the other side or why they even exist.
When our ears, eyes and minds are closed to the minority opinion it only throws fuel onto the fire in the never ending see-saw battle and each side is talking through their cheek about what the word activist truly means.
In today’s extreme world the word activist is translated into somebody who doesn’t swing the same way on issues as another person.
If this is the new meaning of the word I have a hard time believing there is any person on this Earth who can be appointed to the court without sparking demonstration in the street.
In this extreme society we’ve been reduced to one group of people feeling comfortable in their beds with sweet dreams of what they believe America should be while they stomp on the hopes of another.
It doesn’t have to be this way and the truly easy way for us to find middle ground is to start looking deeper at the reasons why the Supreme Court is not bound or obligated to any politician after the nomination process.
When all the banners have left the street and the accusations of murderer, racist, misogynist or oppressor have left the conversation there isn’t one person on this Earth who knows how these Justices are going to vote except for the men and women themselves.
We can run around and conjure up all the criteria we want on the basis of race, religion, gender or single issues but that will not stop them from acting of their own free will after taking the oath of office.
There are no term limits, re-elections or impeachments but rather the simple term of a lifetime of service to the United States Constitution.
With this fact on the table we need to ask ourselves if the circus is really worth it…
The circus of assumption of what side can be the loudest is doing nothing to persuade our future leaders away from picking the most activist left or right judge as possible.
We need to encourage our leadership into making better long term decisions for the good of the American people.
We need decisions made to reflect the landscape of America rather than quick and easy decisions to quiet the partisan voices within the party.
In a world of extremes this may be asking too much.
Maybe we need our leaders to appeal to the worst aspect of our society through fear and intimidation?
Maybe “I’m right and you’re wrong” is the only way to get ahead in this rough and tumble age of politics and the Supreme Court should be a reflection of our modern culture?
If those statements are correct I can see no other solution except for a dark future where one side will always be dominated by another and the American people are the ones’ who suffer when our society ultimately gets it wrong.
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