Constitution Creates a System Designed to Fail - Essay Example

The Constitution Creates a System That Was Designed To Fail The ment “The Constitution creates a systemthat was designed to fail” means in the context of constitutionalism means that there are fundamental structural and institutional flaws, as created by the constitution. The American constitution, though inspirational to many nations, has some structural and functional weaknesses. The constitution helped strengthen federalism by formulating a stronger and fully fledged federal government. It corrected the pre-1878 US where the federal government had to rely on the states for virtually all its operations. It also guaranteed a stronger horizontal separation of power amongst the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, thus improves institutional checks and balances while at the same time granting some autonomy to various government organs (Ellis 49). It also established the Supreme Court that would be the final arbiter in matters of law, therefore improving access to justice and resolving interstate, state-federal as well as well as conflict between the said entities and individuals. To this extent, the constitution was designed to achieve success. Even though the constitution had such praiseworthy aspects, the US creates enormously stronger federal government, with highly nationalized values. Therefore, resources get to be majorly centralized; as such the states become extremely subservient to the federal government (Wood 28).Basically all the prime sectors and taxes are in control of the federal governments. This is a weakness, since it is the states that are closer to the people and therefore stand a better chance to respond faster to the need of the people, in comparison to the federal government (Ellis 49). The congress has on some occasions exercised its legislative power to pass laws that interfere with the processes already running in the states. For instance, in United States v. Morrison, pursuant to its powers under the Commerce Clause and the Fourth Amendment (Section 5), the Congress had enacted a statute, Violence against Women Act (VAWA) which provided civil remedies to gender –based violence victims against their assailants. This was based on argument that such injustices against women hindered their free participation in interstate commerce and thus a remedy was essential. The court struck down a part of this law since the law was not dealing with cases that were economic in nature. The congress had over stretched its powers under the constitution to interfere with state court, by offering a federal filing for such cases. VAWA dealt with a social issue (gender violence) and its economic impact on interstate Commerce was indirect and marginal. Similar scenario arose in United States v. Lopez, where the court pointed out that Commercial Clause could only be applied in cases that are directly economic in nature. United States v. Morrison defines the sensitive question of the relationship between the Congressional powers and the State powers, and in particular, the extent to which the congress may limit areas that are traditionally defined as being within the scope of the state. These decisions reveal judicial activisms in favor of state sovereignty at the expense of federalism and to strengthen the state power. The Existence of a Set of Fundamental American Values Values refer to the standards that have consciously or unconsciously set by members of a particular culture or society upon which the desirable and undesirable are distinguished behaviors (Dahrendorf 14). Values therefore form a basis for judging the people and their actions, from a cultural approach, in order to determine whether they are good or bad, valuable or worthless, beautiful or ugly or whether they are prized or shunned. The values have a great role in shaping our actions and behaviour. For quite long, Americans have been known for their set of values, mostly the value of freedom and independence. This is reflected in a number of Constitutional Amendments that puts extreme emphasis on various forms of freedom and liberty. For instance, First Amendment guarantees freedom of expression and association along with free exercise and practice of one’s religion. Similarly, the Fourth Amendment guarantees individuals freedom from unreasonable seizures and searches. The Fifth Amendment guarantees dues process to the citizens and protection from self-incriminations. as well as the Fourteenth Amendment which guarantees individuals the protection with regards to “personal decisions relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationship, child rearing, and education.” Guaranteeing the social elements in the supreme law of the land, later after the independence constitution had been drafted, shows spirited and national effort to safeguard them. It further reflects a consensus that such aspects are of fundamental value and thus need to be legally protected at the national level and be kept intact. The family has a key role in imparting values, since the family as an institution up brings children and is therefore best place to impart values on the children and discourage the undesired actions in the course of upbringing, or through family support and encouragement programs. Similarly, religion as a social institution pays a special attention to morally and spiritually upright life. It is therefore on the takes a leading role in cultivating virtuous lifestyle and condemning a lifestyle that goes contrary to the established societal or religious norms. Because religion commands an aura of solemnity and a sense of loyalty from its faithful, it has an upper hand in shaping the how the faithful think, behave and reacts to various set of circumstances. Besides, religion as a system has its own rules, regulations and principles which command a greater influence on it faithful, and in the long run a wide community. Thus, the family and religion act as reinforcing agents. In the post modern America, characterized by characterized by fluctuating economy and changing societal perspectives, the long cherished American values are highly threatened. There seems to be little or no consensus on the values. Take for instance commitment to family, along cherished American value: many marriages are becoming unstable; more cases of divorce and separation are reported (Dahrendorf 17). Commitment to work is becoming undermined as individuals get to realize that employers may not be reciprocating by compensating a value commensurate with the work done, or may be laid off if economic depression comes and the firm needs to downsize (Yankelovich 20). Works Cited Dahrendorf, Ralf . Life Chances: Approaches to Social and Political Theory. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979. Ellis, Joseph J. American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic. New York: Knopf, 2007. Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. New York: Knopf, 1992. Yankelovich, Daniel . American Values and Public Policy: How Reciprocity and Other Beliefs Are Reshaping American Politics.Washington: Democratic Leadership Council, 1992. Read More