The original Constitution was (imho) philosophically and practically one of the finest pieces of social and political thought ever committed to paper. The rest of the developed world rightly stood in awe and envy of how this new nation had taken the very best of what existed, discarded the worst and added their own unique set of values. I for one wish the UK had gone through the same process of revolution and soul-searching needed to produce such a document, instead of being stuck with the mish-mash of class and unearned privilege we have today. Unfortunately the principle of entropy seems to hold good in society as well as chemistry, and all great civilisations/political systems fall victim to hubris eventually. (Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' is so uncannily accurate today it seems more like a politics textbook than a historical study.) I'm surprised America can't hear the rumbling sound that accompanies most civic decisions announced recently; it's the sound of your Founding Fathers turning in their graves.