Jeff AtwoodMar 4

https://chqdaily.com/2017/07/paul-raushenbush-discusses-great-grandfathers-inner-vision-carried-work-forward/

As for the nation’s literature, Brandeis may have been the first .. to refer to the Constitution as a “living organism, capable of growth and adaptation.”

“This approach allows the fresh context of the present to perform alchemy with the wisdom of the past, to offer new ways to make the law and faith relevant and responsive to present conditions,” he said. “Prophetic witness cannot set its gaze backward on a frozen history with an unrecognizable context. Instead, it faces forward, informed by the past, yet determined to bring back vision into the world in the present age.”

This no longer works, unfortunately.. how does the constitution change when it is effectively impossible to amend due to Constitutional Calcification .. only "interpret" through a ridiculously gerrymandered (thanks Mitch M) SCOTUS? https://infosec.exchange/@codinghorror/116115405545619662

Show threadJeff AtwoodMar 4
I don't really see a way out here, honestly. If you do, tell me what it is, step by step. Explain it to me like I'm five years old.
Show threadJeff AtwoodMar 4
I mean, I do see a way out, but nobody wants to hear it. Because, again, remarkable lack of bravery here in the land of the free. Just MHO.
Show threadreaversion
@codinghorror It's difficult but it's not impossible to amend; the most recent amendment was ratified in 1992, which isn't that long ago. But with how polarized the US is, it would be a miracle. If I was charismatic I'd try to do it, but I'm just a cranky, withdrawn, degenerate internet gremlin. But who knows? Maybe another Zohran will appear to lead us in the right direction peacefully. Anything can happen. For better or worse...
Mar 4 at 9:18pmWeb
Show threadreaversionMar 4
@codinghorror One way I could plausibly imagine this happening is if someone comes up with a positive proposal that goes viral. I don't know what that proposal would be or who (person or group) would put it forward for everyone to rally around, but it's at least possible.
Show threadCassandraVertMar 5
"Tax billionaires out of existence" has gotten some traction.
Show threadStephen John AndersonMar 5

@reaversion @codinghorror I think that part of the problem (as an outsider) is that it's already dealt with a lot of the low-hanging fruit. For an amendment to pass now, it would have to have such broad appeal that Congress, the Senate and 38 state legislatures would have to back it in fear of losing their supporters. What's left that is _that_ uncontroversial?

You're practically looking at only the kind of things that will cause mass unrest if the government doesn't act, amongst voters of _all_ political persuasions. And that moment does not appear to be here, as yet.

Show threadStephen John AndersonMar 5
@reaversion @codinghorror Besides which, if the current government has managed to perform sufficient capture of the Supreme Court, it turns out they can just choose to ignore bits of the Constitution they don't like. Again, this is just _wild_ to watch as an outsider. Trump clearly violated the Constitution by going to war on his own recognisance, and absolutely _nothing_ is happening about it. The emperor has no clothes and the Constitution has no teeth.