Complex Numbers

Constitutional

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/09/11/COVER-amalg.aspx

Like a delicate butterfly emerging out of a bloated pink pupa, Montpelier has metamorphasized back into its original self, circa 1820. The change is dramatic, the stuccoed mansion expanded by William and Annie duPont is no more, and historians say that's a good thing.

Monticello gets all the attention around here. It's Mr. Jefferson's town, Mr. Jefferson's University, Mr. Jefferson's Hemp Farm, etc. Okay, sometimes Monroe gets a nod, because of Ash Lawn - Highland, which is near Monticello. And okay, I've been known to indulge in Jefferson-worship, myself.

James Madison, however, is a bit of an outcast in the rich-old-white-guy club, with his home closer to Orange (a tiny little town with three stoplights) than to Charlottesville. And like the article says, other people came along and fucked up his house beyond all recognition. I took tours of it back then - lots of art-deco crap, but a pretty neat garden. Mostly, though, I had to endure steeplechase runs on the vast Montpelier grounds - which would be fine, except for all the yuppies around.

There's probably a metaphor in there, somewhere - how the house of the dude who penned our Constitution has been modified, altered, added on to, and painted pink (PINK!) over the centuries, and now, finally, one guy with vision and persistence was able to restore it to its former condition. And how it sure would be nice if someone did something similar with the Constitution.

But the fact is that buildings crumble and have to be protected, and maintained; likewise, the Constitution can easily crumble and it, too, has to be protected and maintained. It's okay to add and subtract from it now and then - the amendment abolishing slavery, for example, was only wrong in that it never should have been necessary; likewise the amendment repealing Prohibition - but the essential form must remain the same, in spite of any efforts to hide it behind sprawling magnolias or pink stucco.

So let that be my nod to... what today is (other than Waltz Is Great Day, of course) - my hope that recent, shall we say, attempts to mask the Constitution, to make it look like other than what it is, can soon be carefully dismantled, so that something resembling its true self can be once more revealed. There's no excuse for what's happened. Not the passing fad of art deco, and not the bitter reek of fear.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. - Amendment IV

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. - Amendment VIII

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. - Amendment IX

Yeah, there's probably a metaphor in there, somewhere, but I'm nowhere near subtle enough to tease it out.

I pretty much just hate the color pink.