Would We Be Better Off Without a Constitution?
Why chain ourselves to an outdated document?
Sometimes I think Americans’ over-the-top displays of patriotism — you know, stuff like the field-sized flags and military-jet flyovers at football games — are a sad attempt to paper over the cracks in our national fabric. We drown out our disappointment with fireworks and applause for the troops.
Part of our performative patriotism is our reverence for the Constitution. It’s portrayed as a sacred document, crafted by unparalleled geniuses. But the old girl isn’t quite what she used to be — the Constitution’s weaknesses are apparent to all, and its loopholes are frequently and cynically exploited by opportunistic politicians.
For all of our ballyhoo about being the greatest nation in the world, Americans don’t think our system works very well. Public trust in the government has hovered around 20% for decades. More than 70% of us feel “anger” or “frustration” when thinking about our democracy.
Americans would change our government if we could. A recent Pew poll found that 65% of Americans want to get rid of the Electoral College. Of course they do! It’s a patently ridiculous and undemocratic system. No country would implement such a thing today.
