Speaking about the similarities between what people think their Constitutional rights are and what their Constitutional rights actually are, it should be stated that they are quite many. Generally, people name their basic Constitutional rights just as they are written in the Constitution including the right for freedom of speech, the right for freedom of religion, the right for justice in courts, the right to reject unreasonable search, the right to reject witnessing against oneself, and the right for the liberty of property.
Addressing the differences between what people think their Constitutional rights are and what their Constitutional rights actually are, it should be stated that they are just a few. Overall, the respondents in my survey were mistaken only about the right to an abortion and the right against gender discrimination, which they believed to be a part of the Constitution.
The analysis of what people think about their Constitutional rights shows that people are quite accurate about their Constitutional rights. I believe this is so because the educational system of the country offers people solid knowledge in the area. However, there was a slight tendency for people to exaggerate their Constitutional rights. I believe this can be explained by the fact that Americans believe that much can be done to continue promoting democratic values in the country.
Speaking about the corrections that must be incorporated into the Constitution, I should state that they are not too many, but still the need to make them exist, which can be explained by the fact that with the duration of time, the circumstances change and the law system of the country should be adapted to them. Addressing the amendments that need improvement, I would mention the 8th Amendment of the Constitution that speaks about unusual and cruel punishment. Cruel and unusual punishment is rather an ambiguous matter as there exist numerous positions concerning this complicated question. At the time the 8 Amendment was written, its creators implicated very different punishment concepts in comparison to those existing nowadays. For example, such punishments were pulling into pieces by horses, burning alive, having hands cut down, or sitting at stocks. Nowadays punishments in the United States are much more humane; as a result, the question is what can be listed among cruel and unusual punishments for now. Thus, a conclusion can be made that this amendment needs corrections because modern-day conditions suggest too many variants of its implication, and this can be used by dishonest people for their manipulations with the law. Also, the Exclusionary Rule entrenched in the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments should be reassessed because today, criminals use it to avoid judgment. The benefits of introducing changes into the Constitution are multiple including guarantying better safety standards for the citizens, offering more democratic rights and freedoms, and solving important social issues. Of course, there also exist many problems that are connected with the necessity to make changes, which can be explained by the fact that lawmakers are always in danger to be mistaken, and then the corrections would only harm the citizens as it had sometimes happened in the history of the country.
With regards to the argument on pages 41-50 of the course textbook, I should state that my opinion concerning the process of making amendments to the Constitution is concentrated on the idea of having more flexibleness. I think that modern times are full of changes, and the Constitution should go hand in hand with them to guarantee a rewarding life to the citizens of the country. However, the flexibleness in making amendments should be limited because too much freedom may also result in many new hardships. Thus, I believe in a healthy balance in this area.
The role that the Constitution plays in addressing social problems is very important. The current Constitution offers people a number of democratic rights despite their social position and any other peculiarities, which considerably improves the situation with discrimination and bias in society. However, social changes in the country take place very fast, and this means that the Constitution should be corrected to become a better controlling agent for social problems in the country.
The thought regarding the necessity of urgent changes in the Constitution to improve the state of affairs in society discussed by the author of “Constitution Café” is absolutely justified. I am confident that due changes in the Constitution will definitely contribute to considerable improvements in society. In particular, the Constitution should include a number of new regulations that will solve the problems with gender discrimination such as a guarantee for equal levels of salary for both genders; also, it should include the regulations that will guarantee equal employment rights for non-white Americans; and it should include new regulations regarding criminal liability for those who ignore restrictions against discrimination in any field. Of course, making corrections in the Constitution will not solve all the social problems in the United States because the Constitution is limited in its ability to affect people’s way of thinking (as it can only control their conduct), but it will definitely improve the situation.