Recently (on AlterNet and elsewhere) there has been a discussion on
whether George W. Bush can pardon himself for his war crimes, et al.
The possibility of G.W.Bush pardoning himself is trivial compared to
the larger problem, viz., the ineffectiveness of the United States
Constitution.
The Preamble is the most salient part of the Constitution along with
the Bill of Rights, a veritable afterthought of the Founders. In the
Preamble, the United States declared itself an entity with a mission.
What follows the Preamble is an attempt to make the mission of the
Preamble come to be. The Bill of Rights was a "we better cover our
asses" move in case the folks just didn't get it.
We now know that the organizational part of the Constitution is a
dismal failure: representative government can be purchased; there is
no allowance for mass media control (mass media didn't exist at the
time of the document's birth); there is no guard against corporations
becoming "persons"; blacks were allotted three-fifths of existence,
but no vote; women didn't exist at all; there is no guarantee of one
person, one vote; no guarantee of the accuracy of the vote count; and
the inclusion of a Presidential pardon was a knee jerk nod to
monarchism. Surely, others have observations of its failings.
A more important discussion is this: Where and when should the
American People hold a convention in order to write a new Constitution
and who shall be given a seat at the table?
Dan Scanlan
Grass Valley CA
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