The Constitution: “Dangerous” and “Undemocratic”

Happy Wednesday!

So did you hear that the Constitution is “dysfunctional” and “antidemocratic,” and maybe we’d be better off if we just tore it up and started over?

Don’t take my word for it! The brain trust over at the New York Times said it. 

(So you know it must be true. )

But all joking aside, this is real.

It’s the latest talking point among some scholars and commentators who are now pointing fingers at the Constitution for all of their problems. They argue that our founding document is to blame for everything from the existence of the Electoral College to the appointment of Supreme Court justices.

Which, yeah, but that’s kind of the point.

And that’s the whole problem for these folks.

The Constitution is being attacked as an obstacle to “true democracy” because it allows for things like the Electoral College, the Senate’s structure, and a judiciary that interprets laws rather than making them. 

Of course, this is precisely the point.

Our Founding Fathers, having lived under tyranny, understood the dangers of unchecked power. They were deeply aware of the potential for a “tyranny of the majority” and so created a system with checks and balances to prevent it.

By design, the Constitution wasn’t made to cater to every whim of a temporary majority—it was meant to safeguard fundamental liberties for all people, regardless of who’s in charge.

That’s not a flaw; that’s a feature.

It’s why our Constitution is the oldest in continuous use in the world. It’s why, despite all of its critics, it has enabled America to be the freest, most prosperous nation in history. At least for now.

The truth is that the people who want to rewrite the Constitution simply hate the principles it embodies: limited government, separation of powers, and the rule of law. 

They’d like people to believe that these are outdated, unfair, or racist principles, but they are actually the very foundations that protect us from authoritarianism and preserve liberty.

So when someone like Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of Berkeley’s law school, suggests that perhaps we need to consider a new constitutional convention or even the secession of states like California to create a “Pacifica,” (not that I think that would be a terrible idea—ha!) he’s missing a crucial point.

The real threat to American democracy isn’t the Constitution but the growing disdain for the very principles that have kept people free.

It’s blatantly clear to many of us that these critics are actually upset because the Constitution sometimes frustrates their policy goals—they don’t like that they can’t push through certain agendas without facing opposition.

They can’t get what they want using the system as it is, so they want to rewrite the rules. 

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, they called for packing the court.

When presidential candidates lose the popular vote but win through the Electoral College (a system designed to ensure all states have a voice), suddenly the whole system is “antidemocratic.”

Never mind it’s the way every president has been elected—it needs to change now because it is getting in their way.

The Constitution was never intended to be a tool for one side to impose its will without resistance. It’s meant to be the guardrail that keeps us from veering off into dangerous territory.

The ideas these people are promoting are exactly why we created the Tuttle Twins series—to help kids understand the principles of freedom, the importance of the Constitution, and why our system of government, for all its flaws, is still the best hope for safeguarding liberty.

If we don’t teach our kids to understand and defend these principles, then they’re going to grow up thinking that the Constitution is just an old piece of paper that’s being used by “racists” and “fascists” to actively hurt people.

They’re going to believe that democracy is the ideal we should be striving for without understanding that a true democracy is anything but equal representation and rule.

That’s why we work so hard to create resources that make these concepts accessible and engaging for kids. The Tuttle Twins and the Miraculous Pencil shows how free markets work. The Tuttle Twins and the Road to Surfdom explains the dangers of centralized planning. And our newest release, The Tuttle Twins and the Medals of Merit, teaches about the value of meritocracy—a concept hated by the same people now screaming about the unfairness of the Constitution.

Today is the last day for our Back to School sale.

It’s your last chance to grab our books at up to 64% off. Plus, we’re still offering our best deals of the year on early enrollment for our Tuttle Twins Academy. If you’ve already shopped our sale, let your friends know that they’ve got a few hours left to snag these deals! 

We live in crazy times. The last thing we need is more confusion about why we have the protections enshrined in law that we do. The Constitution isn’t the problem—it’s our best defense against tyranny. 

And that’s precisely why they hate it.

— Connor