By AMY RILEY
One Citizen's Perspective

One of the more interesting polls published lately sought to measure how Americans felt about the United States Constitution. The poll, conducted by Portrait of America, represented some rather interesting viewpoints and produced some rather shocking results. If you've been bothered by recent low voter turnouts, this poll may shine a light on why some voters are turned on and others are turned off.

As for poll politics, I'm as leery as the next guy. I like to think of political polls as little asides, curiosities to generate interest in the race. For many, though, political polls are the wash and wearology of the media axis spin cycle. The whole election process seems to be driven by polls.

And yet Americans long for a real candidate, not the media icon products being churned out by the image makers. Americans long to come to their own conclusions and wish that pollsters and pundits would stop inferring what they should think. Then of course there are those who aren't listening, don't care, and won't vote, which brings me back to the Portrait of America poll.

A surprising 51 percent of American adults “would vote for the U.S. Constitution if it were on the ballot today; 22 percent would vote against the Constitution; and 27 percent were not sure.”

You would have to wonder, too, of those polled, how many would actually show up?

Of those polled, only 35 percent said that they believed the government operates under the Constitution, while 48 percent stated that they believed “the government violates its charter on a regular basis.”

Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said that the Constitution was the best way to run our country, but 37 percent felt that it needs to “be updated to reflect major societal changes of the past 200 years.”

The Bill of Rights reflects the major shifts in society, so I don't think that we need to get in to the business of “revising” the constitution. Modern government is already revising the document de facto through judicial reinterpretation, legislative appropriation, and the increasingly popular executive order. They certainly don't need our permission to veer any further.

But wait, there's more. Thirty-five percent of those polled said that they believed that America would be safer if the Second Amendment were repealed, making it unlawful to keep and bear arms. Forty-two percent disagreed, and felt that America would be more dangerous.

An affirming 81 percent said that “the First Amendment protections for freedom of speech are generally good for America.” Seven percent disagreed. (I think some of those might live here.)

It would seem that many Americans have been moved to apathy. Many people have had it so good for so long, that they can't be bothered to vote. Other people have had it so bad for so long, that they can't be bothered either. So many Americans now view the whole process with such cynicism, they can't imagine what difference it would make if they voted or not. Still others look on the whole political process — polls, policies, and pundits — and are called to action.

What causes some to be turned on and some to be turned off? Maybe some people feel as if the whole process is suspect. The past nearly eight years has brought unprecedented prosperity and equally unprecedented disillusionment. The hallowed halls have been sullied by corruption, politics, and countless investigations. Some people can't believe that Clinton has gotten away with so much. Others can't believe that conservatives won't just get over it and move on. And too many more could care less one way or the other. All three of those views are giving rise to unprecedented complacency.

Presidential candidate George Bush vows to usher in the “responsibility era.” Now we could sure use some of that.

Maybe the process hasn't lost touch with the people. Maybe the people have lost touch with the process? Maybe it's not a matter of how we feel about the U.S. Constitution at all. Maybe it's a matter of our own constitution.

To me, the process, for all its faults, is the best thing going. It is our process. If we aren't satisfied with what is happening in modern government, we need to fix it. To participate is our responsibility.

Let's get back in touch. Don't forget the Aug. 8th runoff election.

[Your comments are welcome: ARileyFreePress@aol.com.]

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