Originally Posted by rporter314
It amazes me that they could come to a compromise document, especially considering the modern divide between liberals and conservatives. It would be impossible to write such a document today.
Amazing, indeed. I think that the fundamental reason they were able to make the compromises necessary to create the document that endures today is that they approached the task in a good faith belief that everyone had a similar goal. They didn't agree, and some of those disagreements became very nasty (even fatal). If we can reengender that sense of common purpose, even in this fractious environment, I think progress, in the spirit of the Constitution, can still prevail.

The Constitution is an agnostic document. It sets forth parameters, processes, and aspirations, but it doesn't dictate conclusions - economically or ecumenically. The men who drafted it believed in the power and merit of reason. Would that that condition were to prevail today!