As much as I defend the Constitution, I don't think we even should have one. Let's not forget that it took well over a year of bitter debate before all of the original States ratified it. The two States at the tail end of that process did so only because they had little economic choice.
1. The Constitution had a very nefarious beginning...the original purpose of the meeting was to AMEND the Articles of Confederation, but some of the attendees launched (in secret) a plan to dump the Articles entirely.
2. It was written only for Caucasian males---no one else was considered a full citizen. It took women over a hundred years to get the right to vote. (Actually, they had it all along, but no one enforced it. It is, after all, an unalienable right to participate in the choosing of who governs you, and is not dependent on any government grant.)
3. It is not anywhere nearly as important a philosophical document as is the Declaration of Independence.
4. It assumed that because Supreme Court judges were appointed for life, they would not be politically influenced. That was a major fatal flaw.
5. It contains several minor flaws, such as not defining "General Welfare", and not placing term limits on members of Congress (it never occurred to the Founders that anyone would want to make a CAREER out of political office), and having no penalty on Congress for failing to call an Article V Convention when enough States request it. And there are others.
6. It failed to make crystal clear the fact that secession is allowed. As I've pointed out before, New York and Virginia would not ratify the Constitution until they were given assurances that withdrawal from the Union was allowed.
I really believe we would be better off with a loose confederation of nation-States under the Articles, a model somewhat similar to what Europe is today. All that was needed were amendments for: a common standard for money; some inter-State commerce rules; and taxes for "national" (Confederation) defense. With the Constitution, they tried hard to make a nation where States' rights were more important than the central government, but they largely failed. So today we have a "one-size-fits-all" approach by the plutocracy in DC, which is imposed on the States whether they like it or not. And of course, it is the States who are the People, NOT DC.
I hate to say it, but I believe that the Founders failed in accomplishing what they set out to do...to establish a free society. I stay here because I love the land, and because I've seen nothing better anywhere else. Nevertheless, I'm convinced that this is not the society that our Founders envisioned when they declared independence.
