Albemarle Tradewinds March 2016 Final Web

Scalia Taught Us the Right Way to Interpret the Constitution
By: Diana Devine Baum
We have all read articles recently on the life and legacy of the great United States Supreme Court
Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia once said, “I don’t worry about my legacy. Just do your job right…”
In that respect, I’d like to tell you about how Scalia did his job RIGHT and created a legacy that
has taught legions how to properly interpret the Constitution of the United States of America.
In the words of Justice Scalia, “As I have observed before, the Constitution does not forbid the
government to enforce traditional moral and sexual norms.… It is enough to say that the Constitution
neither requires nor forbids our society to approve of same-sex marriage, much as it neither
requires nor forbids us to approve of no-fault divorce, polygamy, or the consumption of alcohol.”
What, then, is the ideology that Scalia has influenced the nation over, with his strict adherence to
and his incredible intellect? The answer is “textual originalism” (also known in several other
variations of the like). A textual originalist looks to the actual text of the constitution and the
original meaning of it.
This type of textual analysis begins with looking at what are known as the Federalist
papers. The Federalist Papers are brutal arguments and debates that dragged on as to what exactly
our founding fathers included in and what they excluded from the text of the constitution. These
countless articles, speeches and documents written in argument for and against the Constitution by
our founding fathers are insightful, intriguing and essential to understanding the Right way to read
the constitution. Asking yourself, WHY they argued these specific issues is the key. The
Federalist Papers help us answer questions like “Is the bill of rights an exclusive list of rights, or are
other rights that are fundamentally constitutional?” Scalia was a scholar of the original documents
that lead to the development of the constitution by the founding fathers. His expertise in support
of original textualism was unmatched and the loss of which will alter the course of the Supreme
Court’s future opinions.
The alternate view – which will hold the majority if another liberal justice is appointed by Obama
– is the “Living Constitution.” A living Constitution is one that adapts to new circumstances,
without being formally amended (essentially “Judge made Law”). If the Living Constitution
ideology becomes the majority on the bench there will be no end as to what Supreme Court can
decide is the Supreme Law of the land. The Constitution will no longer be the Constitution of the
United States of America, it will be whatever the majority feels it should be. That is why the death
of Antonin Scalia will personally affect every single one of us.
Scalia truly loved the Constitution and wanted to protect it. The Constitution of the United States
of America is the oldest and the shortest constitution of any government in the world. There is a
reason why our constitution has lasted over 200 years. One of which is for Justices like Scalia. In
the words of Scalia, “A Constitution is not meant to facilitate change. It is meant to impede change,
to make it difficult to change.”
But if you do want change Justice Scalia urges, “Persuade your fellow citizens it’s a good idea and
pass a law. That’s what democracy is all about. It’s not about nine superannuated judges who have
been there too long, imposing these demands on society.” – Justice Scalia
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