"We the People" ARE the government...many seem to have lost sight of that, including many of our elected officials including our president. Our elected officials and our president work for US we don't work for them. Not adhering to the Constitution and deviating from the intent of the founders is why we are in this mess.
And that's exactly why it's time to stop doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That's the definition of insanity. The Founders expected that citizens, not a bunch of entrenched political elites, would actually understand that "We the People" meant US.
I don't believe that knowledge of our Constitution was written simply nor does one acquire a deep understanding of the Constitution without spending some amount of time to go through the document to clearly understand what was written and what was intended. The "intent" of the Constitution has been questioned numerous times since it has been written. The Constitution is the law of our land. To become president and to reside over this land, I feel that at the very least of qualifications needed would be to have considerable knowledge of the Constitution and command of how each of the three branches of government works.
The original document is only 4 pages long and under 5000 words. Catcher in the Rye is harder to understand and it's read by angst ridden high school students in their English classes. Literature is meant to be interpreted, the Constitution is not. It's written simply ON PURPOSE, so the common man, you and I, can have the same understanding as those we send to represent us. The best way to understand any document, be it a contract or literature is to reread it as many times as it takes to grasp it. It's a great disservice to ourselves and our country to just assume we can't understand our founding document(s) or how the government should work. The three branches of government and their powers are clearly laid out in the first 3 articles of the Constitution.
People believing they need someone to interpret the Founders "intent" is crap and a huge reason why we're now in such terrible shape. Had they intended something else, they would've written something else. Their in depth thought processes and reasoning can be found in the Federalist Papers. They also aid in our understanding. The powers that be have (successfully, evidently) tried to convince the masses that a document written in plain language is too difficult for us poor rubes in flyover country. Thus, we need our precious elites to interpret it for us. That's how they maintain their status quo. They aren't any wiser than we are.
The Constitution is very specific and unfortunately, "We the People' have wrongly assumed that those in government know and will uphold the Constitution. Trump, Carson,and Fiorina lack in that knowledge. As far as I can tell and the research I have done, there are only 2 candidates with a deep understanding and respect of our Constitution; Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. Other candidates due to being governors, senators have experience in dealing with Constitutional issues because of positions held.
You just refuted your own argument. The Constitution IS very specific, that's why you don't need anyone else to interpret it. Assuming those in government "know and will uphold" the Constitution without knowing what is and isn't Constitutional and what they can and cannot do is like handing your bank card and the keys to your new car to your teenager and telling him to have a good time without setting any ground rules. Except politicians are very susceptible to corruption, especially those who refuse to leave long after their expiration date. Money and power are hard to resist. Too much power corrupts. Besides, how have any of our political overlords served us? What "interpretation of their intent" have they applied that does little more than help them? I can't think of one thing.
Honestly, the Constitution can seem daunting but it's not as difficult as you think. Take one of the free internet courses offered by Hillsdale College. It's self-paced and taught by professors who teach government and the Constitution. The students are required to take these courses before they can graduate. It's the exact materials they use in their classrooms and the videos aren't boring at all. Read some of Mark Levin's books. His knowledge of the Constitution is encyclopedic.
I'm curious about the research you've done. What was it that convinced you that people outside of the government aren't qualified? Trump (who isn't my first choice by any means) was exactly right about the 14th Amendment. All these supposed expert politicians currently serving and people who call themselves scholars opining on television have it wrong. Like many of us, they've fallen victim to what we all assume is common knowledge. We've been scammed by people who deliberately "interpreted" it wrong.
Government runs like a giant corporation. States run like a smaller corporation. So both types of jobs require the same skills. Whether they're qualified in other ways (temperament, leadership qualities, etc.) remains to be seen and it's why they're campaigning. As I've said before, part of being a good leader is the ability to choose knowledgeable & competent people to serve in areas they know well. Trump choosing Jeff Sessions to help craft his immigration policy is an example of that kind of leadership. Personally, my first choice is Ted Cruz because he's proven to be honest, uncorruptible and unwilling to compromise his personal values and the will of his constituents just because it's easier.
Somewhere along the way "We the People" have become lazy about understanding our rights, our Constitution and how our government works. It's our responsibility as citizens. As Ben Franklin so succinctly put it when asked when asked what kind of government we have, "A republic, if you can keep it." The founders must be rolling over in their graves.
Cindie
