Part D

1. How would you amend the constitution?

America as it stands now is not as "Ruled by the people" as its thought out to be as we discussed in class on November 7th. Andy asked us to write down a law we would add to the constitution if we had a chance to. For most of it it was diffcult to come up with one. He then asked us to rate from 1-10 how difficult it was, 10 being the most difficult, I gave it an 8, which is a pretty high rating. We came to a conclusion that as Americans we accept all the laws we already have and do not think to come up with any of our own which contridicts the constitution which by the 1st article is supposed to give the people the right to some sort of power to the nation. But in reality the only people who have this power are the legislators and members of congress.

Because this holds true in America today, if I had a chance to amend the constitution I would try to come up with some way to allow the people (citizens of America who live the American way of life (do legislators live the American way of life?)) to have a say. As it is now im sure we are allowed to write suggestions to the members of congress or something along those lines but truth be told, they will not take what we say or any other middle or lower class citizen's ideas into consideration just because of who we are and what out social status is. Generally, I would try to have some sort of system where average American citizens can have a say in society, more than their single vote every four years.

4. Tendency of the constitution:

Generally, I think the government tries really hard to make things fair for the majority. For example, the 6th article states that religion will not be used against citizens of the United States which benefits the citizens who practice or do not practice a religion that would defy them a job. But for those who would like to be tested by their religion might not agree with it. Also in the 9th amendment made after th civil rights movment allowing all races to vote and then later on, the 19th amendment allowing women to vote. These amendments represent the government allowing equality of all races and genders which is very beneficial for them because before this, they would not be able to get a job or have their own type of freedom. But of course, there's always a catch, while the former slaves and the women can have jobs, thet are taking the jobs away from the richer white men. If the white man is offered a job but then a woman or former slave is willing to do it for less, they steal the white man's job who would have otherwise gotten the job had these historical events and amendments not happened.

Overall, I think the constitution has its way of making things fair but there is never a way to make everyone happy. There will always be a group of people who will disagree and want things in society to go differently. I do not necessarily think the constitution is "good" or "evil" but I do think the government and even society today makes it look a lot more fair than it actually is. It covers up the bad parts. For example, in the preamble the first seven words are "We the people of the United States" when in actuality it was 45 white men who came up with the preamble and the first parts of the constitution. At the time period it was created in, there was slavery and women were not treated as they are treated today meaning that neither of those groups were able to have a say in what they wanted the constitution to be.

5. Relating to AWOL:

From what I have collected from family members, students in the class, random people on the street and other Americans, the main aspects of the American way of life are, freedom, social class, education, work, and opportunity. These aspects can directly relate to the American constitution and government. The government tries to make things as free as possible for the American cititzens and like as mentioned before as "Ruled by the people as possible" which is the reasoning behind the inclusion of the first article being the Legislative branch which is closest to the people. Which does not seem close enough because depending on which social class you are in, you will be payed attention to more closely. If you have lots of money the members of congress will most likely take into consideration what you have to say but if you are a middle class citizen, there is less of a chance that the legislators will pay attention to your thoughts and ideas.

Education also plays a big role in the American way of life because without a good education, it is highly unlikey that you will get a well paying job. And in the typical American way of life, money tends to be the main goal. Which realtes to the constitution, Amendment 10 allows the states to create their own educational alliance and curriculum. The ones controling this (congress) have made education a huge aspect of the American way of life being what a typical American spends the first 20 or so years of their life doing. Once they are done with their education, they will most likely get a job to sustain themselves in society, buy whatever necesities they need. But nowadays there's lots of competition for jobs because of the equality in society mentioned before about the 19th amendment. and the 9th amendment.

Another large player in the American way of life is the idea of opportunity. Most people come to America looking for opportunity, immigrants looking for a job and a better life than the life they were living in the previous country they were living in. Relating to the government trying to give Americans the opportunity to even change the American society relating back to the first article of the constitution. Overall, the American way of live is very relative to the Constitution and the government which is also related to capitalism in America. Economy and government being the two dominant frameworks of the American way of life, all three of these systems are relative to one another.