O, the world is a tumultuous and ridiculous place. It seems as though the most appropriate metaphor available is that of the Nuremberg Elephant - we are bungling and blundering our way into an awful political morass, but we are only following orders in doing so. The United States Constitution - a wonderful document, by the way - is under assault and will require some severe examination in the next few months. What parts of it shall remain important to the American way of life?
A lot of people don't even know what that document says. Take the first lines, for example.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."I don't think people value the very beginning of American democracy. If you value the ability of multinational corporations to profit from accidents and illness, then obviously the Welfare of the general population is lower down on the list of priorities.
So right off the bat, the current state of affairs has little to do with the founding documents of the American Empire. The welfare of the people is not important. Incarcerating them and shooting them seems to be more important to the operational arms of the state than protecting or blessing them. I'm sure that the people of Yemen, Niger, and Afghanistan are very appreciative of having democracy defended at them every day. Every bomb, drone,and bullet that defends democracy through every child's skull is a testament to how well the common defence is being upheld. Seventeen years of defending poppy fields in central Asia provides a shining example of democracy in action.
According to the United States Department of Defense [sic. Defence is a noun, defense is a verb], 2,254 servicemembers have died thus far in Afghanistan. Insofar as the U.S. government is concerned, that's the good news. It's the wounded that are a headache. The American government has demonstrated numerous times over the past months that it doesn't want to deal with veterans. The homeless, illness, and suicide rates are more than uncomfortable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/kristof-a-veterans-death-the-nations-shame.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1
In short, American troops are dying around the world on a daily basis to get things like opium and petroleum for their government. Those that aren't killed by resentful children and families who hate occupation forces have to live with the guilt and self hate. The government is filled with glee when PTSD-wracked individuals take the short road because it is easier on the budget.
So as the American Empire rumbles on towards its own destruction, people have to start making value judgments about what parts ought to be salvaged. Should the resources of the nation continue to be spent bombing, torpedoing, and shooting the rest of the world in an Orwellian war on everyone in the name of "defence"? For people who love to gripe about how their tax dollars are misspent, click here.
What parts of the American Constitution do people like? What bits would they like to preserve when it all comes crumbling down?
Obviously the part about killing other people. The United States is the world's greatest arms dealer. If Americans aren't killing people, they are selling them the weapons to do it. Oh, yeah, and it's for defence.
Let's start with the Bill of Rights. Are the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution relevant any more?
- Freedom of expression. Quick summary - this is an all-or-none game. Either you have freedom of expression or you do not. Are you free or a slave? If neo-nazis can't speak, neither can you. People cannot understand this, and this is where the first amendment dies. Oh, and Americans don't understand the separation of church and state, so this amendment never made any sense to them anyway. Gone.
- Freedom of murder-weapons. Two hundred and fifty years ago, it was a good idea to have a muzzle-loading musket to keep redcoats away from your haybales. Now, it appears to be constitutionally mandated that every primate old enough to be drafted into the armed services should have a weapon capable of murdering scores of people as quickly and from as far away as possible. This constitutional amendment will never go away because Americans love guns, love killing people, and love killing people using guns. I reckon the new constitution will comprise this one single principle - give us guns so that this land shall forever be free of the awful burden of empty hospitals and unfilled graves.
- Quartering soldiers. The founding fathers thought that it was really important that the constitution of the United States have something that says that something shall not be done "...but in a manner prescribed by law." Wow. I think this one can disappear without much notice, considering that the rest of the document describes "law." Gone.
- Search and Seizure. Considering that the President of the United States has proclaimed that he wants to expand the scope of "Stop and Frisk" procedures (see here), civil rights are on the way out. Colour this amendment toast.
- Self-incrimination. Not a chance. This will evaporate faster than you can say "forensic accounting."
- Rights of an accused at trial. Considering the number of political figures that are facing indictment, this amendment may become a foundation-stone for an entire cadre of people that are exonerated due to technical legal principles. Jared Kushner's grandchildren may well be named Sextus because of the umbrella-like shelter their grandsire was afforded.
- Twenty Bills. $20 is worth a jury's time. It's not worth anyone else's any more. Gone.
- The Cruel and Unusual Punishment thing. Is the death penalty cruel punishment? While you debate that, this amendment dies.
- The "Just 'cause I didn't say it" amendment. This has been used to advance human and civil rights, and therefore has no place in the United States of the twenty-first century. Authority and populism are now synonymous with ethical correctness, and therefore this amendment is likely to be discarded.
- States rights. The Attorney General of the United States has just declared that federal law enforcement can effectively disregard state legislation regarding marijuana. In other words, this amendment is already toothless, and will be tossed out as soon as it is convenient.
In conclusion, things are going to get worse before they get better. And they are going to get a lot worse.
Songlist
And here are the songs that accompanied my latest shower.- Skinhead Love Affair, by Bad Manners
- Forever Man, by Eric Clapton
- Girl Watcher, by Big Sugar
- Wheel in the Sky, by Journey
- Change, by Lightning Seeds
- Give Peace a Chance, by John Lennon
That's all I've got for the moment. Time to lie down.
Cheers, and goodnight England and the Colonies.
—mARKUS
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