To: Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States
A Petition to Amend the US Constitution to Include the Concept of "Responsibility"
I propose that a coalition of legislators, via the President of the United States, introduce a bill to amend the US Constitution to say, that for each right and power guaranteed or granted under the U.S. Constitution, there is an equal and corresponding responsibility and duty.
See below:
One Sentence That Will Affect EVERYTHING!
By
John A. Mattsen
New governments like the new government in Iraq, are usually compelled by unfortunate circumstances, to rapidly create constitutions that will be readily accepted, or at least be minimally tolerated, by a wide array of existing political factions. Though bitterly contested during it’s creation, the U.S. Constitution was a relatively easy thing to “sell” to the public, because it presented to the American people, a tangible vision of an effective government that would be well organized, and be limited in it’s power. The Bill of Rights was a relatively easy thing to sell because it, by tangible law, granted and guaranteed individual liberties. Because constitutions are created by consensus, under conditions of difficult compromise, constitutions that are successfully ratified inherently focus on what people will gain (“good news”), and consequently avoid what people will lose (“bad news”).
In the years following the ratification of the U. S. Constitution, the Congress had a duty and a moral obligation, to actually deal with the “bad news” side of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For 200 years, “they” and “we” have failed to do so, and over time, we have paid dearly for this mistake. This critical error has been hiding right in front of our noses for centuries!
“Responsibility” is the “bad news” side of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.....the part that was never written into the Constitution...the part that would have created controversy and discord...the part that might have fatally delayed the development of our new government. “Responsibility” in the U.S. Constitution is a presumption....simply an implied notion that does not carry with it the full force of law. Our lives and everything that is touched by law, will be out of balance until such time that rights and responsibilities work together in our Constitution, and subsequently in our courts.
I propose that a coalition of legislators, via the President of the United States, introduce a bill to amend the US Constitution to say, that for each right and power guaranteed or granted under the U.S. Constitution, there is an equal and corresponding responsibility and duty.
Our failure to empower “responsibility” with the full force of law, has affected us in virtually every arena that law has had an affect on our lives! Adding this one sentence amendment to the U.S. Constitution will affect everything that is touched by law, and essentially, everything is touched by law. The proposed amendment will tangibly introduce into law and culture the notion of “duty”, without creating a dubious list of responsibilities. In every civil and criminal case, in every courtroom in the country, the notion of basic civic responsibility will carry with it, the full force of constitutional law, and in doing so, it will add “balance” to the discussion of “rights”. In common law the question, “What would a reasonable man do?” would become, “What would a reasonably responsible man do?”
If you ask high school students what “rights” they have under the US Constitution, they do pretty well. But ask them about their responsibilities under the US Constitution, and they fall flat on their faces. This happens for good reason. Do a word search of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the words “responsibility” and “duty”. Nowhere will you find the word “responsibility”. Nowhere will you find the word “duty” except as it pertains to a tax. HELLO! What’s wrong with this picture?
Pick a problem! Pick any social, political, economic, or environmental problem. Pick them all! You will find that somewhere in that problem, to a greater or lesser extent, some entity’s failure to act responsibly is a factor in the existence of that problem. It stands to reason that if we move universally across the broad spectrum of our problems, to increase that level of responsibility for those entities, that we will also be moving to decrease the extent to which those problems exist.
What factors in our present and in our future, suggest that we need to begin this debate? Unlike the 150 years that followed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the last fifty plus years have seen a fundamental shift in values that have weakened the informal system of social control. The responsibility for social control has now been shifted to the formal side (police, courts, schools, employers, etc.), where sanctions for improper behavior cannot be effectively enforced on a grand scale, without the need for “big brother” intrusions. (Like camera cops to catch people running red lights......people who are bo...
See below:
One Sentence That Will Affect EVERYTHING!
By
John A. Mattsen
New governments like the new government in Iraq, are usually compelled by unfortunate circumstances, to rapidly create constitutions that will be readily accepted, or at least be minimally tolerated, by a wide array of existing political factions. Though bitterly contested during it’s creation, the U.S. Constitution was a relatively easy thing to “sell” to the public, because it presented to the American people, a tangible vision of an effective government that would be well organized, and be limited in it’s power. The Bill of Rights was a relatively easy thing to sell because it, by tangible law, granted and guaranteed individual liberties. Because constitutions are created by consensus, under conditions of difficult compromise, constitutions that are successfully ratified inherently focus on what people will gain (“good news”), and consequently avoid what people will lose (“bad news”).
In the years following the ratification of the U. S. Constitution, the Congress had a duty and a moral obligation, to actually deal with the “bad news” side of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For 200 years, “they” and “we” have failed to do so, and over time, we have paid dearly for this mistake. This critical error has been hiding right in front of our noses for centuries!
“Responsibility” is the “bad news” side of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.....the part that was never written into the Constitution...the part that would have created controversy and discord...the part that might have fatally delayed the development of our new government. “Responsibility” in the U.S. Constitution is a presumption....simply an implied notion that does not carry with it the full force of law. Our lives and everything that is touched by law, will be out of balance until such time that rights and responsibilities work together in our Constitution, and subsequently in our courts.
I propose that a coalition of legislators, via the President of the United States, introduce a bill to amend the US Constitution to say, that for each right and power guaranteed or granted under the U.S. Constitution, there is an equal and corresponding responsibility and duty.
Our failure to empower “responsibility” with the full force of law, has affected us in virtually every arena that law has had an affect on our lives! Adding this one sentence amendment to the U.S. Constitution will affect everything that is touched by law, and essentially, everything is touched by law. The proposed amendment will tangibly introduce into law and culture the notion of “duty”, without creating a dubious list of responsibilities. In every civil and criminal case, in every courtroom in the country, the notion of basic civic responsibility will carry with it, the full force of constitutional law, and in doing so, it will add “balance” to the discussion of “rights”. In common law the question, “What would a reasonable man do?” would become, “What would a reasonably responsible man do?”
If you ask high school students what “rights” they have under the US Constitution, they do pretty well. But ask them about their responsibilities under the US Constitution, and they fall flat on their faces. This happens for good reason. Do a word search of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the words “responsibility” and “duty”. Nowhere will you find the word “responsibility”. Nowhere will you find the word “duty” except as it pertains to a tax. HELLO! What’s wrong with this picture?
Pick a problem! Pick any social, political, economic, or environmental problem. Pick them all! You will find that somewhere in that problem, to a greater or lesser extent, some entity’s failure to act responsibly is a factor in the existence of that problem. It stands to reason that if we move universally across the broad spectrum of our problems, to increase that level of responsibility for those entities, that we will also be moving to decrease the extent to which those problems exist.
What factors in our present and in our future, suggest that we need to begin this debate? Unlike the 150 years that followed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the last fifty plus years have seen a fundamental shift in values that have weakened the informal system of social control. The responsibility for social control has now been shifted to the formal side (police, courts, schools, employers, etc.), where sanctions for improper behavior cannot be effectively enforced on a grand scale, without the need for “big brother” intrusions. (Like camera cops to catch people running red lights......people who are bo...
Why is this important?
Pick a problem! Pick any social, political, economic, or environmental problem. Pick them all! You will find that somewhere in that problem, to a greater or lesser extent, some entity’s failure to act responsibly is a factor in the existence of that problem. It stands to reason that if we move universally across the broad spectrum of our problems, to increase that level of responsibility for those entities, that we will also be moving to decrease the extent to which those problems exist.