Constitutional amendments are the only way to correct past wrongs – The Boston Globe

If we are no longer capable of amending our Constitution (In Our Dreams, Letters, Dec. 26), then we might as well give up on government of, by, and for the people.

Yes, amending the Constitution is hard, but previous generations did it 27 times. What would our country be like today if they hadnt? Slavery would still be legal (13th Amendment), women could not vote (19th Amendment), poll taxes would prevent millions of Americans from voting (24th Amendment), and young men and women risking their lives for democracy in the military would not be eligible to vote in state and local elections (26th Amendment).

A series of antidemocratic Supreme Court rulings such as Citizens United and McCutcheon are undermining our democracy by exposing it to the corrupting influence of big money in our political system. The consequences are severe: unaffordable health care, rampant gun violence, grotesque disparity of wealth, climate chaos, and widespread distrust of our government.

According to a Native American proverb, we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. We owe it to future generations to fix our broken democracy by amending our Constitution.

Paul Lauenstein

Sharon

Wide awake

When I read last Sundays letters to the editor, my reaction was, I agree with them all. And while they all are important, I got to daydreaming about what it would take to make the proposed changes and thought: They needed prioritizing.

Id start with Citizens United because the others wouldnt stand a chance with the corrupting influence of big money. Then it was a toss-up: fatal ambiguities or term limits. But by the time we completely transition to term limits, the ambiguity of the Second Amendment will have contributed to far too many fatalities, thus urgency overrode politics. Then, of course, connecting the dots and filling the gaps should be part of any effort to make the Constitution truly relevant and to protect the rights of all citizens. Isnt that what the Founders intended (or so we like to believe)?

But alas, I was awakened from my daydreams by the harsh realities of the last letter.

Adam Villone

Cummaquid

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Constitutional amendments are the only way to correct past wrongs - The Boston Globe