One of the

more interesting polls published lately sought to measure

how Americans felt about the United States Constitution.

The poll, conducted by Portrait of America, represented

some rather interesting viewpoints and produced some

rather shocking results. If you've been bothered by

recent low voter turnouts, this poll may shine a light on

why some voters are turned on and others are turned off.

As for poll politics, I'm

as leery as the next guy. I like to think of political

polls as little asides, curiosities to generate interest

in the race. For many, though, political polls are the

wash and wearology of the media axis spin cycle. The

whole election process seems to be driven by polls.

And yet Americans long for

a real candidate, not the media icon products being

churned out by the image makers. Americans long to come

to their own conclusions and wish that pollsters and

pundits would stop inferring what they should think. Then

of course there are those who aren't listening, don't

care, and won't vote, which brings me back to the

Portrait of America poll.

A surprising 51 percent of

American adults "would vote for the U.S.

Constitution if it were on the ballot today; 22 percent

would vote against the Constitution; and 27 percent were

not sure."

You would have to wonder,

too, of those polled, how many would actually show up?

Of those polled, only 35

percent said that they believed the government operates

under the Constitution, while 48 percent stated that they

believed "the government violates its charter on a

regular basis."

Fifty-six percent of those

surveyed said that the Constitution was the best way to

run our country, but 37 percent felt that it needs to

"be updated to reflect major societal changes of the

past 200 years."

The Bill of Rights reflects

the major shifts in society, so I don't think that we

need to get in to the business of "revising"

the constitution. Modern government is already revising

the document de facto through judicial reinterpretation,

legislative appropriation, and the increasingly popular

executive order. They certainly don't need our permission

to veer any further.

But wait, there's more.

Thirty-five percent of those polled said that they

believed that America would be safer if the Second

Amendment were repealed, making it unlawful to keep and

bear arms. Forty-two percent disagreed, and felt that

America would be more dangerous.

An affirming 81 percent

said that "the First Amendment protections for

freedom of speech are generally good for America."

Seven percent disagreed. (I think some of those might

live here.)

It would seem that many

Americans have been moved to apathy. Many people have had

it so good for so long, that they can't be bothered to

vote. Other people have had it so bad for so long, that

they can't be bothered either. So many Americans now view

the whole process with such cynicism, they can't imagine

what difference it would make if they voted or not. Still

others look on the whole political process - polls,

policies, and pundits - and are called to action.

What causes some to be

turned on and some to be turned off? Maybe some people

feel as if the whole process is suspect. The past nearly

eight years has brought unprecedented prosperity and

equally unprecedented disillusionment. The hallowed halls

have been sullied by corruption, politics, and countless

investigations. Some people can't believe that Clinton

has gotten away with so much. Others can't believe that

conservatives won't just get over it and move on. And too

many more could care less one way or the other. All three

of those views are giving rise to unprecedented

complacency.

Presidential candidate

George Bush vows to usher in the "responsibility

era." Now we could sure use some of that.

Maybe the process hasn't

lost touch with the people. Maybe the people have lost

touch with the process? Maybe it's not a matter of how we

feel about the U.S. Constitution at all. Maybe it's a

matter of our own constitution.

To me, the process, for all

its faults, is the best thing going. It is our

process. If we aren't satisfied with what is happening in

modern government, we need to fix it. To participate is our

responsibility.

Let's get back in touch.

Don't forget the Aug. 8th runoff election.

[Your comments are

welcome: [email protected].]