US Constitution Document Analysis

I believe the US constitution is one of the single most important documents that was ever created by any group of people or government in the world. This document created a country often referred to as an “experiment” that has been successful in many ramifications. The US is looked upon from countries around the world for inspiration and for help when necessary. This is remarkable for a country that has such a relatively short existence compared to other countries in Europe and Africa.
The importance of the Connecticut (compromise) papers versus either the Virginia (big state) the New Jersey (small state) version is being played out year after year in election cycles and when legislation is to about to be passed. I believe the incident served as a pathway for future deliberations and will become the corner stone of the functioning of a well-designed constitution.
Another interesting aspect in the process of the development of the constitution is the federalist vs antifederalist argument. This is still very relevant today as it plays out in the form of big government versus small government position of the two dominant political parties. Historically, the context in which this arguments were made was even direr as some people (the antifederalist) were skeptical and could easily imagine the federalists driving the whole country
towards the British monarchy system which ironically both sides stood firmly against. I am led to believe that the federalists must have understood the arguments of the opposition, but the federalists must be convinced it was necessary for the greater good of everyone to go ahead with the constitution in the way they (the federalists) envisioned and proposed it.
There are understandably no specifics about health or public health in the constitution for two reasons.
First, the constitution was designed to be flexible in certain areas to give room for developments that would arise. Secondly, and more importantly, they were in the process of creating a country and this was against the interest of the British, the then world power – forming a country (US) meant loss of revenue for the British, so war was imminent. Nonetheless, the founding fathers were visionaries and included statements such as “promote the general welfare”. These statement sounds like they could have been partly defining public
health.
Even as people go back and forth on whether health care should be a right or not, or if and how the Affordable Health Care Act should be replaced. I believe, the machinery of the US government as designed by the constitution is well lubricated to continue to run and to positively impact the health of the people of the country in the long run.
Finally, I agree with Edward S. Corwin in his article, the constitution as an instrument and as a symbol. These two part nature of the constitution is essential and it has extended beyond the shores of the US as a model and symbol for other developing countries. This is easily observable for me as an international student who lived outside the US and tries to keep up with happenings around the world.
Discussion questions
1. If the US constitution is to be re-drafted in 2018. Who will be the key players? How long do you predict it would survive and why? Would there be a need to create a version using emojis /emoticons and the language that millennials and their children will be more familiar with?
2. How much do you think the size of a country affects the ability of a government to provide or guarantee health care for the citizens.