The Book of Madisoniah

Today, for the fi rst time, the United States Constitution was read aloud in the House of Representative. This was touted as a return to the origins, to the ethical bedrock on which the Founding Fathers laid the foundation of our republic. What was read was the amended version of the Constitution, namely the document as is in force today.

I love the United States Constitution precisely for its essential interpretive nature, for its intention of being the genotype and not the phenotype of American polity. Alas, this reading of the amended Constitution as the "original" smacks of political gambit. Returning to the origins is a favorite of politicians of all colors and stripes. When I rst visited the Soviet Union in the summer of 1988, our party-sanctioned guide was touting the need to return to Lenin's teaching ... The reading of the amended Constitution as "original" abstracts it from its evolution and seems to imply that Constitutional Law is moot. It parallels the literalist reading of the Bible of so many supporters of the Tea Party!