In some ways the Constitution is not so much a blueprint for government as it is a plan for how to continually reform, revise, and recreate the government, so that neither a violent revolt nor a new Constitution would be needed in order for the people to have the kind of government they might want and need. The amendment procedure allows it to be fundamentally altered, not lightly, but without great difficulty if the people are in consensus about the need for the change. In this sense, the United States actually has what reformers elsewhere have claimed to have: a permanent revolution. Hence, people who want to call a new convention to create a new Constitution seem to be badly informed about the nature of the Constitution that the United States already has. Any change that enough of the people want can already be made, so long as it does not violate peopleÆs civil rights. American respect for such rights is so pervasive and fundamental that a majority of the people simply will not support a proposed amendment that would violate those rights, even if they themselves agree with or would benefit from the specific change that would be made. The important things that Americans have learned about self-government during the last two decades concern not so much the USAÆs internal structures as its role as a world leader. With the fall of the Berlin Wall. the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War, there was a feeling that at last the Second World War was truly over. It then became clear that the United StatesÆ policy of being a Gentle Giant in the world had paid off: by not attacking other countries, America had maintained its dominant position. It seems likely to continue to maintain this proven stance, to strengthen the North American economic unit created by NAFTA in order to stand up against the growing economic might of the European Union, Japan, China, and, soon, India. By remaining powerful and peaceful, America will, one hopes, a |
