Be careful with Constitution

To those who are asking for a constitutional convention, a word of caution. It took the Founding Fathers 11 years to craft the Constitution along with the Bill of Rights before it was ratified in 1787.

It has served us well for the past 228 years, and we need to pause and consider the risks and benefits of tinkering with it. Some of us feel that our current government officials appear to disregard what the Constitution says, but that feeling does not justify rewriting it.

First, the Preamble tells us that our government exists to “provide for the general welfare” of the people, not simply pander to the wishes of the wealthy.

The “commerce clause” in Article 1 Section 8 gives Congress power to regulate aspects of the economy. We have heard that one of

the limitations of the Affordable Care Act is that insurance companies are not allowed to sell their products across state lines. So, without amending the Constitution, our Congress could repair the ACA by removing the barrier to interstate sales of insurance.

Article 1 Section 9 prohibits public officials from accepting any gift, yet our president continues to enrich himself using government funds, our tax dollars, to pay for travel to his own personal resort.

Stop and think about how any change to our Constitution could change your life if the government no longer “provides for the general welfare,” regulates commerce or bans government officials from accepting gifts. What motivates those who want a constitutional convention?

Patricia Giese Johnson Creek