The Great Wall

"President Barack Obama will soon have to make a judgment to reform the nation's "wall" if he is, as he so often says, to build a more perfect union. The wall I refer to is the U. S. Constitution."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-jesse-jackson-jr/building-a-new-wall-the-f_b_146606.html

In a way, Jesse Jackson is correct in calling the U.S. Constitution a "wall." The purpose of the Constitution was and still is to prevent tyranny. The Bill of Rights contains the phrases "shall not" several times when referring to actions of the State and several other clauses restrain the State's actions by requiring due process. It is clear the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is intended to be a limitation on government, which is a wise decision.

We should not throw out this idea that government should have limitations. Even if a particular initiative is very popular, we must still consider whether the majority has a right to enforce the particular mandate on the minority. Too often people are wrapped up in whether a law helps a certain group of people or feels good and not whether it conforms to the principles of a free society, however interpreted.