What Does the Constitution Say Today?
I see now that the liberals are proposing that the right-wing push for an anti-gay marriage amendment should be countered by another amendment that would explicitly guarantee the right to privacy and thus presumably allow people to engage in the sex of their choice with the person or persons of their choice.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/opinion/16savage.html
I don't like the anti-gay marriage amendment worth a damn, but I'm not sure I'm all that keen on the other proposal either. It's not that I cotton to the idea of of government supervising what should be a very private matter. What's next? A rigidly proscribed list of acceptable positions? A maximum decibel level for screamers?
Still, the notion of turning the Constitution into the equivalent of a computer game that offers instant gratification or easy retaliation against one's foes makes me exceedingly nervous. I can't help being struck by the current level of distrust for the judiciary displayed by those at either end of the political spectrum, with both groups concerned about the harm that is being or about to be done by activist judges of the wrong political stripe. Despite constant warnings that our very way of life is in jeopardy, changing the Constitution is a momentous step to me, too much so ever to be done hurriedly, especially in our current ideologically polarized environment, in which the fate of western civilization seems to hang in the balance every time left and right collide. If I might paraphrase my idol, Jimmy Buffett, as "a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling," a constitutional amendment is a lot bigger deal than a tatto. JC
