My Proposed Changes to the Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution
While the United States is the greatest country in which to reside, with many freedoms guaranteed to us not available in other countries, there are still changes I would personally like to see with regard to our “inalienable” rights.

In examining the Bill of Rights, there are a few items that come up immediately. The fourth article of Amendment XXIX regarding reasonable search/seizure practices. If the object of the search does not have prior notification, the search shall be deemed unreasonable. With regard to article five of Amendment XXX, speaking specifically to the death penalty, no person shall be forced to accept the death penalty involuntarily. This practice is barbaric.

The Bill of Rights certainly needs to be amended so that voting citizens are able to vote – and have it actually count – for an alternative party and not have that vote count as a vote for the least of the worst evils offered up as candidates.

In examining the Constitution, I find it quite fine in theory but really necessitating changes to keep it relevant in our contemporary society. I don’t know that absolute deletions or additions would be appropriate with the possible exception of guaranteeing equal rights to all people – not just men, or citizens, or straight people, or gay people – ALL people.

My next choice in change would be to do away completely with the “natural born citizen” clause. It is antiquated and, in my opinion, discriminatory. There are numerous American citizens who would serve this country well in the office of President, all because they do not have a parent who was born on this soil.

I would like to see the tenth amendment actually put to use in the manner it was written in that the states are exist in a more autonomous manner. The rights of the states are so subjective and viewed as irrelevant by the federal government. A case in point would be the issue of medicinal cannabis, with the federal government arresting growers in states where it is legal to do so and allowing agencies like the IRS to terrorize dispensaries such as Harborside Health in California. The Federal government has obviously chosen to ignore that the Constitution declares limitations on centralized government and that the states have the power of self-governance.

In light of the recent government shut-down, an amendment mandating a balanced budget, reduced expenditures in the budget and progressive tax increases based on income, particularly in the areas of corporations.

Our government has not limited itself as dictated by the constitution. If it did, there would be no catastrophic national debt, no farm subsidies.

I feel that changes to the 22nd amendment are certainly in order in that if representatives can be elected for infinite term life, so should the POTUS.

The very nature of the American Constitution was to promote non-governance. It specifically addresses what actions and behaviors the government cannot exact on the citizens. For example, the government is not to superintend speech, religion, the press and gun ownership.

All of the preceding folderol is a lovely flight of fancy, to be sure. At the end of the day, the reality is that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights don’t actually require any additions, deletions or changes. They do, however, require application consistently throughout government in order to actually realize results. We can cry and shout about changing this or that, laying responsibility for a variety of ills at the feet of the Republicans or the Democrats, or even at the feet of the President. We have complained bitterly and elected more cookie cutter candidates to do the same cookie cutter job whilst we all bury our heads in the sand, hoping things will get better. The responsibility lies with “We the People” to hold our elected officials accountable to defending those rights at every turn. Rewrite the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, if you will; until “We the People” stand up, speak out and demand to be heard, holding accountable the elected officials who are, by virtue of their winning votes, allegedly working for us, not just working us, nothing is ever going to change. Ever.