Stick to the Constitution

The Constitution of the United States and the 27 amendments are the laws for the lawmakers. Those elected officials who create the laws for society must obey the Constitution's higher guidelines.

The framers of the Constitution knew from experience that people are not to be trusted with concentrated power. For this reason, they partitioned three branches - legislative, executive, and judicial - to act as checks on one another: this seems like a gridlock to some, but an ingenious system preventing misuse of power to others.

Limited government was the framers' philosophy, but unfortunately today's Republicans and Democrats have gone awry. Rather than placing blame on one party, Americans should look for leaders who best support the document that made our nation great.

Through the process of judicial precedent, clever re-interpretation, FDR's infamous court-packing, and so on, the original Constitution has been torn to pieces. The modern government has given itself the ability to grow more than ever by interpreting away those clauses that explicitly limit its power.

Clauses such as the necessary and proper clause, the interstate commerce clause, the privileges and immunities clause, and the ninth and 10th Amendments have largely been ignored in recent decades.

The Patriot Act, for example, chips away at an individual's right to privacy and opens the door for future reductions in this liberty. Some say that privacy is not explicitly guaranteed in the Constitution, but this is plainly untrue.

The Ninth Amendment states, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Privacy may not be enumerated or listed in the Constitution, but that does not mean we are not afforded that right.

Apparently the Ninth Amendment was disregarded when the legislators were drafting the Patriot Act. As for distrusting our politicians, this is our duty as Americans. Wendell Phillips - whose statue lies in the Boston Public Garden - once said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

As a whole, our country has lost its vigilant spirit. We allow our liberties to be taken away and replaced with empty promises of protection and security. We turn to the government to solve our problems, as if they know best.

Why should things like medicine, education, and retirement planning be government responsibilities? More importantly, why do we as citizens applaud goals of "universal" health care, standardized education, and mandatory social security.

If I want to spend the time and money to stay fit and eat well, shouldn't I also be allowed to forego health insurance? Under current Massachusetts law - potentially nationwide after 2008 - I would face a tax penalty for not owning health insurance.

Also, if I choose to spend my money now and save little for retirement, then I should face the consequences of poverty at old age. People should be in charge of their own lives and should be accountable for their own decisions, not the government.

In last week's opinion section, Joshua Darr asked, "Why shouldn't Americans be proud of the politicians and government they elect?" I share his frustration with the campaign process, but instead I propose we be proud of the Constitution and the 200-plus years of prosperity it has allowed for America.

Darr blames Republicans for their inability to provide moral and societal benefits to America. Each time our tax dollars are spent when Democrats are in charge, he argues, there must be a proven benefit to show for it.

There is little or no proven benefit for much of the $2.5 trillion in government spending each year. Politicians from both parties waste billions of our dollars on farm subsidies, inefficient entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, and attempts to instill democracy abroad … where is the accountability?

When the government decides that it's time to use more biofuel to power our vehicles, they subsidize production and mandate usage amounts. No one ever asks why food prices around the world are rising, but it's because more of our food is being consumed by inefficient biofuels.

Biofuels, however, are an easy pitch to the American people because they sound like they should work. What they are really doing, though, is making it harder for poor people in foreign countries like Mexico to put food on the table.

Why is big government a good thing? The framers of the Constitution proposed limited government. During the Constitutional Convention, the 13 states met because they realized the need for some sense of cohesion. They also did not want to hand over total control to a common legislature.

The government of the United States did not make this country great. What makes America great are its citizens: people who possess diverse minds, entrepreneurial spirit, and a culture that encourages progress.

Milton Friedman said it best, "Government can never duplicate the variety of individual action … it would substitute uniform mediocrity for the variety essential for that experimentation which can bring tomorrow's laggards above today's mean."

When politicians disobey the Constitution and create laws and departments they should not be allowed to create, they hurt the American people.Uniform standards like socialized medicine, education, and even nutrition requirements can surely help millions of people in the short term. In the process, these standards siphon away the individual liberty of choice.The founders of this country did not expect competence from its elected officials. In fact, they expected exactly what happens today, incompetence - pretty impressive when you think about how hard it would be to predict people's behavior in the year 2250!

If politicians stuck to the original Constitution - Bill of Rights and all - our government would not be increasing its control over our everyday lives.

The framers knew that absolute power corrupts absolutely, so they made strict rules to prevent this. Unfortunately, these rules are being ignored.

Dave Trimmer is a junior in the Carroll School of Management.