I love the Constitution. I think it is one of maybe the top 5-10 most important documents in human history. Having said that, I do think it is getting a tad dusty. The world has changed dramatically since the wild, carefree days of 1787, and I think there are some parts that could use some updating. Lets start with the bill of rights:
2nd Amendment - OK this made sense in 1787, but no one could have predicted the destructive capability a single person can do with “arms” these days. The phrase “a well regulated militia” is also antiquated and somewhat unhelpful. I think most people are OK with the idea of restricting arms to the general public - the idea of citizens running around with high powered artillery & automatic weapons isn’t super appealing. Personally I don’t see why anyone would need a firearm, but knowing that a total ban isn’t going to fly in 2007 America, can we rewrite this to allow personal firearms? How about something like “The right of the people to keep and bear small caliber Arms shall not be infringed, although it can be regulated to ensure proper use”? Obviously the phrase “small caliber” is going to be problematic, but it is a start.
3rd Amendment - Probably don’t need this one anymore.
9th Amendment - Probably can be merged with the 10th. We are busy people. Brevity counts.
18th Amendment - Clearly no longer needed, along with the 21st.
22nd Amendment - Also no longer needed. With the current state of American politics, if we find a leader we like who does a good job, I want him/her to stick around longer than 8 years.
As for the Constitution itself, it seems we need to clearly state the chain of events required to go to war. From what I understand, it was customary but not required in days past for the president to request congress permission to go to war. These days the president goes to war whenever he feels like it.
This should get us started. How can we clean up the Constitution and make it Y2K compliant?