The most stupid concept in American politics is constitutional originalism. Like it would be funny if it didnāt do so much damage to the nation as a whole.
Youāre telling me the constitution (which has amendments btw, I canāt stress enough how it has amendments) can only be interpreted to mean what the framers originally intended in the exact words itās written in and can never be changed. Notice how these people always seem to think the framers would agree with them even when we have letters explicitly to the contrary. But even done in good faith itās still a stupid concept. Tell me youāre incapable of independent thought and problem solving without telling me. Did you also ask your momās permission for everything as a child? Do you need your dad to give you advice on whether or not to eat a grape? Like itās such a cowardly cop out for people who are too afraid to take ownership of their own opinions and responsibility for their own rulings.
āBut the founding fathersā- I hate to be the one to tell you this but theyāre dead babe. Thatās how the passage of time works. They are d-e-a-d dead. Jefferson is scrubbing a toilet with his toothbrush in Hell. John Adams is getting drunk with the angels. Alexander Hamilton was most recently reincarnated as a squirrel and Ben Franklin wonāt stop sexually harassing people via mirror writing at seances. Do you want us to Ouija board them every time thereās a court case? If so Hasbro better release an updated version with caller ID so Dick Cheney doesnāt hide in the vents pretending to be the voice of god to spark a war again. For people who constantly yell about dead people voting, you seem to think we should let dead people make policy.
Of course, they get around this by claiming the constitution was ādivinely inspiredā. Okay main character syndrome. I donāt think you should take governing advice from a guy who flooded the earth because he had a temper tantrum but it sure would explain a lot. If weāre going to base our government on a narcissistic autocrat who doesnāt tolerate dissent, may I suggest Stalin instead? He doesnāt have quite as high a death toll as God (heās only human after all) but at least weād maybe get healthcare out of it. Plus while I realize it wouldnāt help the country any, putting dead leaders in glass coffins would be personally beneficial to my morale. āJesus is loveā- No sweetie thatās Shrek but okay sure. Iām down. Letās base our government on historyās most controversial hippie. Oh sorry, not what you had in mind?
The worst part is that this idea that the constitution can only mean exactly what it explicitly says nothing more or less with no room for common sense, critical thinking, or interpretation has been expanded to apply to almost every text. It trickles down. When the people in charge of educational policy canāt read between the lines, you get an entire generation who struggles with the idea that not everything has to be explicitly stated. That you can interpret things without spoon feeding. That an author not having a footnote disclaimer decrying the actions of their character as immoral does not, in fact, mean they condone irl murder.
