An explanation of my apparent fixation on the U.S. Constitution

Some people apparently read this blog. They may have noticed that the Constitution comes up a lot when I start ejecting opinions. I can understand why some might be put off by this. For one, Constitutional fetishization / founder worship is one symptom of today's problematic right-wing politics, which apparently seeks ownership of American symbols like the flag, Constitution and "our troops." But, more generally, it can be annoying to see someone invoking the same thing over and over (monomania?)

So let me be clear about my attitudes towards the Founders and the Constitution.

The Founders were men just like any other men, imperfect and a product of their times. But their times, if a member of their high social stratum, were intellectually fertile and ambitious. Among other things, the behavior and work of the Founders reflected the influence of the Scottish Enlightenment:

The thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment asserted the fundamental importance of human reason combined with a rejection of any authority that could not be justified by reason. They held to an optimistic belief in the ability of humanity to effect changes for the better in society and nature, guided only by reason. This latter feature gave the Scottish Enlightenment its special flavour, distinguishing it from its continental European counterpart. In Scotland, the Enlightenment was characterised by a thoroughgoing empiricism and practicality where the chief values were improvement, virtue, and practical benefit for the individual and society as a whole.

David Hume, generally regarded as one of the greatest philosophers, had a particularly strong influence on James Madison, the chief architect of the Constitution if one had to be identified.

At least in part, I regard the Constitution so highly because it represents the fruit of a collective intellectual effort, a structure built by the guidance of reason (yes, "reason" is more than just a platitude) and an earnest effort to identify what was wrong with government in the past and design a new government without these flaws.

It's a spirit and mindset of thinkers whose work is reflected in the Constitution that I look to as a guide for how a government can work . . . and a guide for how to understand and interpret the Constitution itself.