By Their Fourteenth Amendment Fruits, Know Them!

Sorry for the scriptural allusion. I need something to get attention.

I was teaching my semi-annual presentation on basic legal processes to BLM Realty Specialists today and something just came to me so I shared it with them. I was talking sort of like I write on this blog about the various theories and philosophies on Constitutional interpretation. I conceded that this very turmoil of ideas was part of the Constitutional process as the Founders left us with this structure and process and it is ultimately the people who are in charge. Then I went on.



The Constitution, however, is more than what happened in 1787. And I gave them my caution that it is fine to consider all kinds of theories or interpretations of the Constitution, but if someone is preaching a theory that seems to ignore the Civil War and the Fourteenth Amendment, they have my permission to disregard it.

So, that's my new test. And I throw the challenge out. The Fourteenth Amendment was won through much shedding of blood in the cause of preserving our Constitutional Union of, by, and for the people. And that includes all the people even if we didn't get that all figured out for another hundred years.

Extreme conservatives and the tea-partiers say their political movement is not about race. But if they are questioning or ignoring the Fourteenth Amendment and ignoring or distorting the Civil War's meaning in American History. . . yeah. It is.