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Maybe a few will, being "good soldiers", but for the rest....no way in hell.
History proves you wrong, sadly. Anyway, it's a little off topic to have the whole 2nd A discussion here, don't you think?
Constitutions do matter in other countries, but it may fly under a foreigner's radar because the discussions concerning what's constitutional or not have to do with domestic issues that don't raise a lot of awareness abroad. For instance, there's an ongoing debate in Norway about the transferral of power to foreign/international entities (mainly the EU and the various European courts). Such transfer is unconstitutional, but several governments have gotten away with it by just pretending it's ok.
Also, the whole purpose of the US Constitution was to limit the power of the Federal government in order to get the various states to sign on, whereas in Norway (for instance) the focus was on distributing power between the legislative, executive, and judicial branch of one central government, while establishing certain protections for citizens.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I get the impression from looking at other countries, that the USA seems to put the Constitution in higher regard than some others, in terms of how likely people will bring it up when discussing politics even in everyday life, how much resistance there is for it is to be revised, changed or amended.
I notice many other countries' citizens are less focused on arguing whether something is Constitutional or not and also it seems to play less of a role in their legal systems and even in day-to-day argument/discussion on politics.
I'm not someone who is that knowledgeable about political science, but I'm curious as to if this is true. Is the focus/emphasis on the Constitution something really exceptional to the USA?
What about other nations that also have strong founding revolutionary identities, like France?
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong about other countries but I think it's because in the USA, the constitution is really the only supreme law. it is the only document, the only part of US government that can stop all other branches of government from passing certain laws. States can pass laws that conflict with federal law or ignore federal laws. however if such a law is in the constitution the supreme court can then rule such a decision as unconstitutional. the reason two states can legalize pot is because, while federal law may make it illegal, it's not a constitutional amendment. And, the constitution is part of our checks and balances. What this means is there are entries that forbid congress from passing laws that violate the Constitution. the US constitution is the only thing that regulates all other forms of government both on at the federal level as well as the state level. it is the oldest government document in the world that is still in use.
History proves you wrong, sadly. Anyway, it's a little off topic to have the whole 2nd A discussion here, don't you think?
While I know you're right about history, obviously, I just think things would pan out differently today. I could be horribly wrong, of course, but I don't think so.
As far as the 2A, it's the one thing I see thrown around the most as of late, and which seems to be held, for some reason, above even freedom of speach to some, so, I don't believe it's off topic all that much. But yeah, I'll leave it be.
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong about other countries but I think it's because in the USA, the constitution is really the only supreme law. it is the only document, the only part of US government that can stop all other branches of government from passing certain laws. States can pass laws that conflict with federal law or ignore federal laws. however if such a law is in the constitution the supreme court can then rule such a decision as unconstitutional. the reason two states can legalize pot is because, while federal law may make it illegal, it's not a constitutional amendment. And, the constitution is part of our checks and balances. What this means is there are entries that forbid congress from passing laws that violate the Constitution. the US constitution is the only thing that regulates all other forms of government both on at the federal level as well as the state level. it is the oldest government document in the world that is still in use.
I think it's pretty much the same in Canada.
Like this for example:
OTTAWA—The Supreme Court of Canada unleashed a seismic social, legal and political debate Friday by giving the federal government just 12 months to redraft unconstitutional criminal laws or allow prostitution to flourish as would any other business.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I get the impression from looking at other countries, that the USA seems to put the Constitution in higher regard than some others, in terms of how likely people will bring it up when discussing politics even in everyday life, how much resistance there is for it is to be revised, changed or amended.
I notice many other countries' citizens are less focused on arguing whether something is Constitutional or not and also it seems to play less of a role in their legal systems and even in day-to-day argument/discussion on politics.
I'm not someone who is that knowledgeable about political science, but I'm curious as to if this is true. Is the focus/emphasis on the Constitution something really exceptional to the USA?
What about other nations that also have strong founding revolutionary identities, like France?
We are still a "young" country and perhaps a bit immature!
“The idea of adopting a constitution may still trace its inspiration to the United States, but the manner in which constitutions are written increasingly does not...
In particular, the study found that the U.S. Constitution guarantees relatively few rights compared to the constitutions of other countries and contains less than half...
It is also one of the few in the world today that still features the right to bear arms; the only others are the constitutions of Guatamala and Mexico.
Overall, the research suggests that the Constitution of Canada, revised in 1982, is now a leading international model rather than that of the United States.
I am an American living in Portugal. The Portuguese constitution dates from 1976 after the overthrow of the Estado Novo conservative government (Salazar and his successors) in 1974. It has been amended twice since. And there is a special constitutional court that passes deliberates on the constitutionality of new laws if there is a question that they violate the provisions of the constitution. The president recently referred some laws passed by the Assembleia to this court.
The constitution is not something that I hear the Portuguese carry on about, even at election time. It may be because its system of regulating the powers of each branch of government have worked well. Also, Portugal is a small country with a strong sense of central government, and the idea of the rights of smaller geographical/political entities do not come into play for one thing. Even though political parties show considerable disagreement, there seems to be among ordinary people a belief that those who differ with them on political matters are not demons working to destroy the constitution of the country.
The experience of Estado Novo government, followed by an ardently leftist government appear to have left the Portuguese with a distrust of those who play grand ideological cards.
OTTAWA—The Supreme Court of Canada unleashed a seismic social, legal and political debate Friday by giving the federal government just 12 months to redraft unconstitutional criminal laws or allow prostitution to flourish as would any other business.
it does sound similar. I liked the example you used LOL Are there entries in Canada's constitution stating that "Parliament shall pass no law"... Meaning that the legislative branch of government too is bound by the constitution. Our federal constitution also states that our states cannot pass laws or add to their constitutions amendments which violate the federal constitution.
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong about other countries but I think it's because in the USA, the constitution is really the only supreme law. it is the only document, the only part of US government that can stop all other branches of government from passing certain laws. States can pass laws that conflict with federal law or ignore federal laws. however if such a law is in the constitution the supreme court can then rule such a decision as unconstitutional. the reason two states can legalize pot is because, while federal law may make it illegal, it's not a constitutional amendment. And, the constitution is part of our checks and balances. What this means is there are entries that forbid congress from passing laws that violate the Constitution. the US constitution is the only thing that regulates all other forms of government both on at the federal level as well as the state level. it is the oldest government document in the world that is still in use.
What you just said is the definition of a constitution.
For example, the German constitutional court is always watching new europeans treaties and decide if they are compatible with the German constitution. Or the French constitutional court said last year that the 75% tax law, the way it was written, was unconstitutional. Etc.
I think American are in love with their constitution for the same reason they are in love with the funding fathers. Because it's the source of the USA. If the funding fathers didn't write a constitution, there wouldn't be any USA but many independent states more or less linked. The USA was not a nation, nor an ethnic group, but a "contract". We should remember in those times people didn't think they were "American" but individuals who wanted to be freed from the British crown. Many still had a home in Europe and saw the USA just like a business. Today we can speak about the American's nation, but that's relatively new.
And the American constitution didn't protect you from your state, the federal American state was nothing like your funding fathers wished. You have the biggest military, the biggest spying program and trillions of debts. With all the anti-terrorist acts, any insurrection would be legally crushed before fox news would even speak about it.
it does sound similar. I liked the example you used LOL Are there entries in Canada's constitution stating that "Parliament shall pass no law"... Meaning that the legislative branch of government too is bound by the constitution. Our federal constitution also states that our states cannot pass laws or add to their constitutions amendments which violate the federal constitution.
It think so. Canada's constitution is more a collection of documents than one single peice of paper, if you know what I mean.
I do know that the government is bound by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
What about other nations that also have strong founding revolutionary identities, like France?
In regards to a country like France, the difference is how they view their constitutions. France's current constitution was implemented in 1958; the US' was implemented in 1789. We don't toss out the constitution and write a new one in the US like they do in some other countries.
I'm not saying the US is unique in this regard, but when you've merely been amending your constitution since it went into effect following your success in your war for independence, you tend to hold it in a high regard.
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Go Canada!
