Dear Editor: No changes needed for U.S. Constitution

Dear Editor,

In the Sept. 19 edition of the Statesman, Johanna Carling, president of the College Democrats was quoted as saying, “We live in a different time than our great forefathers … I suspect they would be appalled that although our society has changed drastically since 1787, we are still governed by a document created for people living in 1787.”

If it was quoted correctly, then I think her statement is disturbing, especially if it is truly representative of the College Democrats.

Does she suggest that the United States Constitution has become outdated? I don’t know how long the Founding Fathers thought the Constitution would endure, but they provided a system for amending it so it would endure as long as a

freedom-loving people exists.

The principles that the Constitution implements, if they are true principles, are timeless. Those principles, as presented in the preamble, are importance of a union among the people, provision for the common defense, promotion of general welfare, and the importance of securing the blessings of liberty for

ourselves and our posterity.

The Constitution will become outdated only if we no longer value the freedoms and responsibilities that it is designed to preserve. If it is ineffective in some area, we have the means to improve upon it. I believe our great

forefathers would give their blood now even as they did then to preserve such a system.

Joseph Sheppard