Disputing the Constitution

Abstract

Almost every week now someone asks, are you doing for the Bicentennial of the Consti tution? My answer is, Nothing. That is not wholly true. I continue to teach courses on constitutional law, civil liberties, and constitutional interpreta tion, and my enthusiasm does not wane. But I have no interest in throwing a party for the Founding Fathers or encourag ing yet another bout of ancestor worship. What is exciting about teaching about the Constitution relatively little to do with the Founders, although they feature prominently in every course. The document is a useful starting point for each class, of course, but its language is rarely dispositive of anything we dis cuss. What is exciting about teaching constitutional law to do with the kinds of debates it engenders. Tocqueville was right when he wrote that almost every issue of major political importance ends up in the courts, but that is not the half of it. Constitutional law, properly taught, is about the of our nation, and our nation, as G.K. Chesterton long ago observed, has the soul of a church. Today it is unfashionable to suggest that individuals might have or that it would be prudent or just for per sons to act as if they had souls to