The U.S. Constitution: Protection of Rights and Vagueness
The premises for the provision of rights to every single denizen of the U.S. population can be viewed as the key asset of the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal rights and protection for all members of the American society (14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, n. d.), can be viewed as the basic example of the positive effects that the Constitution has on the legislation of the state.
One must admit, though, that the American Constitution has several weaknesses its vagueness being the key one. Although the specified feature can be interpreted as positive when considering the promotion of a positive change in the society, it may also lead to a drastic misinterpretation and misuse of the key principles listed in the Constitution.
Maintaining the Strength, Addressing the Weakness
However, the paper alone cannot possibly create the environment, in which all people are treated equally and where the members of the U.S. society can live peacefully and without any conflicts. Instead, the Constitution must be used as the tool for managing the emerging conflicts and setting guidelines for the members of society to comply with. Particularly, the strengths of the specified document can be enhanced by developing the laws and regulations that will promote equity among all tiers of the American society.
The weakness regarding the possible ambiguities in the U.S. Constitution can be addressed by assuming that the Constitution presupposed equality for all people (Azevedo, 2015). Thus, the premises for a fair judgment and the adoption of reasonable laws and regulations can be created (Dom, 2014).
It should be borne in mind, though, that most of the issues that could be defined a the weaknesses of the Constitution have already been identified and addressed properly.
For instance, the issue regarding equity of the U.S. citizens had to be addressed at some point of the American Constitution development. Though it is hardly believable nowadays that there was appoint in the U.S. Constitution development when the Bill of Rights had not been suggested yet, the lack of equality among the American population used to be a major issue.
It would be wrong to claim that the present-day political and social landscape created with the help of the American Constitution is completely deprived of any trace of inequality; according to the recent study, gender and racial prejudices remain an infamously common part of the American society.
Occurring at a variety of levels, starting from the social one and up to the communication in the educational sphere, the specified issue needs to be addressed with the help of a corresponding amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This amendment needs to spell out the issue of human and civic rights, thus, leaving no room for discrimination in the U.S. society anymore.
Annotated Bibliography
14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Web.
An excerpt from the U.S. Constitution provided at loc.gov, was used as the support for the argument regarding the Constitution strengths. Seeing that the excerpt was taken from a governmental website, it can be considered quite credible. The validity of the source is defined by its direct relation to the matter of discussion. Therefore, it can be regarded as appropriate as a piece of evidence.
Azevedo, A. A. (2015). No salvation through Constitutions. Independent Review, 20(1), 33-46.
The source shed some light on the problems related to the Constitution and its vagueness. The authors make it very clear that the current principles of justice and equality need to be spelled out in a more obvious manner in the Constitution. The article contributed to the understanding of the current issues regarding the U.S. Constitution and the legal system.
Dorn, J. A..(2014). Equality, justice, and freedom: a constitutional perspective. CATO Journal, 34(3), 491-517.
Speaking of the second source, one must give it credit to as scholarly research carried out by experts. Since the paper was published in 2014, it should also be considered an up-to-date source, which makes it valid. The source was used as the means of supporting the key argument concerning the means of managing the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. Constitution.