MANVILLE: Constitution has endured and evolved

   One of the most overlooked and underappreciated dates in our country is the anniversary of the Constitution we all live under.
   It’s 225th birthday comes next Monday, Sept. 17.
   As the American Board of Trial Advocates points out, the document defines what it means to be an American.
   We’ve had lots of debate — and argument and a civil war — over some of the phrases, but it’s remarkable that the Constitution has held our country together for the last 225 years and been amended just 27 times.
   The writers had a great sense of purpose — to preserve a democracy while saving a country foundering in the first years of the Republic under something called the Articles of Confederation. The discussions leading to compromise and agreement were acrimonious, but the delegates shared vision to create a founding document that would represent the interests of all parties.
   In the fast-approaching election, many of the issues that will be discussed revolve around the Constitution. The Supreme Court’s upholding of President’s Obama’s health care law turned on the applicability of various phrases of the Constitution. The reach of the federal government, as opposed to what duties and powers should be left to the states, are inherent in arguments over abortion, immigration, bailouts, gun control and government regulation, just to name a few.
   The first 10 amendments to the Constitution — known as the Bill of Rights — were added by 1791 as an “operator’s manual” and explained how the Constitution should be used. They assured our rights were clearly stated — although with enough vagueness to assure definitions of those rights are still debated hotly.
   ”The final document is a masterpiece of compromise that is flexibly elastic and enduring,” says the Board of Trial Advocates. “The document represents the best of its kind in the history of mankind.”
   As you make up your mind how to vote, think not only about the personalities of the candidates, but how the mechanism of government devised 225 years ago works today.