Friday, July 29

Supreme Court Newbie

The Supreme Court does not have a lot of turnover, and the last couple of decades have been even more consistent. Not since the 1820s has the court gone so long without a change in face. As this is first change in the court in my adult life, I have been interested in where it is going. From what I have gathered, the new Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts, is the greatest thing since the invention of disposable diapers! Even the generally Bush-critical Time magazine could find no ill to post on this guy.

Which brings me my deep thought of the day. Is the Constitution a "living document" or should it be interpreted according to the wishes of the founding fathers? For example, when the guys in white wigs stated that we have a right to bear arms, were they stating that all people at all time should be free to carry weapons? At the time they were dealing with, you know, making and defending a new country. Probably not dealing so much with the meth-addicted crazy dude breaking into the shed next door with his big ol' gun in order to steal my neighbor's priceless scrap metal.

Shoot - here comes another deep thought. This question painfully reminds me of our religious debates. Is the Bible a "living document" or should it be interpreted literally as stated by its first century authors? What was culturally influenced? Is it the letter of the law or the heart of the law that should be upheld?

It's an interesting parallel between two documents that so many people in our country rabidly attempt to keep out of the same discussion.

1 comment:

rebecca marie said...

in my humble opinion, both documents should be looked at both ways. like, and i'm shooting from the hip here, so pardon my ramblings, when in the bible it says not to braid our hair or adorn ourselves. in context, in the age, it would have made a woman appear to be a prostitute. some church groups consider that you need to take that literaly, so they choose not to fancy up their hair, wear make-up, exchange wedding rings and so on. i don't feel that i am sinning in the least by wearing my modest wedding ring and putting baubles in my hair. that's just one example. that being said, MOST of the bible applies to every time. don't kill is just simple. love your neighbor. believe and profess that Jesus is who He says, and so on.

as far as the constitution, same goes. free speech. that had nothing to do with accosting people with vulgarity, rather it had everything to do with every voice being heard. separation of church and state had nothing to do with keeping God out of the government, and everything to do with keeping government out of churches.

yes, i aggree, i spoke in gross generalities, but you get my point.