Time Magazine – Does it Still Matter?

Time Magazine – Does it Still Matter?
On July 4 of this year, Time Magazine ran a cover photo of the Constitution being shredded under the caption “The Constitution – Does it Still Matter?” Inside was an article titled “One Document, Under Siege” written by executive editor Richard Stengel.
To begin with, July fourth is the anniversary of the signing of the ‘Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. Mr. Stengel started his article with a list of things the Founders did not know about when the Constitution was written. Among these were “sexting,” (really?) and “the internal combustion engine,” read cars. While Stengel seems to relish stating the oblivious, allow me to state the obvious; the Constitution is not a document about transportation. Although the horse and buggy was the main mode of transportation when the Constitution was written, it does not mention them either.
Allow me to provide a short list of things Mr. Stengel knows nothing about:
The Constitution.
I know; a lot of people don’t know much about the Constitution. But this is a bold claim because Mr. Stengel graduated magna cum laude from Princeton and was president and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. He is a Rhodes Scholar. To understand the Constitution, some historical context is necessary. You may know all of this already, but apparently Mr. Stengel does not. I offer the following for his edification. (He should really explore the possibility of getting a refund from Princeton.)
The Enlightenment was the outgrowth of the Renaissance. It gave us the ‘Age of Reason’ which spoke of “Natural Law” which simply meant that there were things which worked in nature because that is the way the Creator put things together. It stated that these things were observable and that man could learn from them. It further stated that when man behaved in accordance with these Natural Laws, his world worked better. The Declaration and the Constitution were both written at the pinnacle of the Age of Reason and were greatly influenced by its many profound intellects: Bacon, Locke, Smith, Jefferson, Montesquieu, Paine, Franklin and Kant to name but a few. The Declaration and the Constitution were intended to bring human nature in line with Natural Law.
The framers of the Constitution understood that government, as a human construct, tended to concentrate power around itself just as individual humans tend to try to control all the elements within their environment. However the history of governments had not been good. Individuals at the top of government just naturally assumed this concentration of power for themselves and used it to oppress others. The framers rightly sought to leave this sovereign power with the individual but to limit it to the sphere of the individual. This gave each individual the greatest power in his own life while not allowing it to intrude on the equal rights of others to be sovereign in their own life. By leaving the power of sovereignty with the individual, the government could exercise only those powers the individual lent to the government. We refer to these limited powers as ‘delegated.’ The power to govern comes from the consent of the governed. This is a Natural Law and can be seen to work in all social animal groups from wolves to primates. It is observable and we can be informed by it; Natural Law.
Mr. Stengel’s article, from the offensive cover (to a patriot, the shredded Constitution is reminiscent of the urine soaked crucifix the left wanted you to subsidize) to the excessive verbiage (5,000 words; editor, edit thyself), has all the usual offensive elements leftists include in their arguments. They dismiss it as irrelevant in a modern technological world. Their Porsche Carrera may be technologically capable of almost 200mph but the speed limit is still 70. They redefine the words to fit their agenda, but the framers left volumes of writing to correct any misinterpretation, accidental or malicious. Amend it if you can. Do the work. Convince the nation. But that is the speed limit.
As all leftists, Mr. Stengel sees himself as a member of the ‘intelligentsia.’ This is leftist newspeak where the ‘sia’ is a substitute for ‘ish,’ as in intelligentish or using education to sound intelligent while actually avoiding the practice. Thank you and praise the Lord. Mr. Stengel concludes that the Constitution does still matter, but not so much.
So my question is; does Time Magazine still matter? Did it ever? Are they still part of the significantsia? I don’t think so. They gave Hitler the Man of the Year Award. They gave it to Stalin; twice. Yuri Andropov also received the award. I suspect this was a thin edition. His brother, Pikup Andropov, a fictional chuffer for the acclaimed ‘Click and Clack’ radio program had a longer list of accomplishments. Add to this a diminishing subscriber base, I mean aside from doctor’s offices, who actually buys this thing? More people read the Constitution in 2011 than read Time Magazine. This one document is under siege from Richard Stengel and people just like him. Does he still matter? Our Constitution has been supporting this Republic (he called it a democracy, do they never stop?) for over two and a quarter centuries. What has Richard Stengel ever done for the Republic? Fifty years from now, few will remember his name. He obviously suffers from parchment envy.
The Constitution – Does it Still Matter? I think so and so do most Americans.
~ Terrell AronSpeer