A Typical Example of the total Failure of our Laws and Constitution:

While it's hard to believe,   this is a true story.   The story was published in our local newspaper on November 5, 1998 and concerns the sentencing of an offender.  The headline read:

Teen who hit teacher given 45 days in jail

45 days!!    Does that seem like a fair sentence for "beating a teacher unconscious"?   Well for some strange reason our twisted laws allowed this to happen.  While the sentence was clearly far too lenient for a violent crime,  that's not the total story.

Prior to this assault,   the 17 year old had 31 suspensions!   These suspensions included assaults, threats, inappropriate contact, obscene language, throwing a pen at a teacher,  and spitting on a teacher.

So what needs to be fixed?   Well  ...  just about everything!     So much needs repair,   that we are better off starting from scratch with a new Constitution and body of laws.

No one denies that the laws,  which allowed a 45 day sentence,  are a mess,  but you ask,  why the state Constitution?    Well,  it's our state Constitution which allowed this "urban savage" to remain in school in the first place.    Remember 31 suspensions!   Our Constitution proclaims that everyone has a right to an education.   And so it should!   It should also require that students demonstrate they are interested in getting an education.  That is, there must be some social responsibility.

This individual had no interest in getting an education.  He was there to entertain and to be entertained.  The pity is, while he was there entertaining himself,  he was robbing the children, who wanted to learn, of an education.  This can no longer be tolerated!  If we are to compete in a high tech manufacturing oriented world, we must have an educated population.   Our children already have shorter hours and a shorter school year than our competitors.   Must we also allow them and their teachers to be distracted by individuals with no interest in learning?

The time has come for us to discard the things that no longer serve our interests.   The New York Constitution is a prime example.   Together we could draft a new constitution that balances individual rights with indivdual responsibility.   That elevates the rights of victims over the rights of criminals.   And maybe,  just maybe, if we do all these things, we'll once again be in a position to compete and prosper!

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