I kid my British friends about being subjects to a Queen. How anachronistic and outmoded. They reply that they live in a Constitutional Monarchy. But how can that be, if you don’t have a Constitution?

Our Constitution was modeled after the Roman Republic, and starts with the line, “We the People”. It does not read “We the Citizens” which is the proper and consistent thing to do. After all Republics are ruled by their citizens. Most people in Rome were women and slaves and only a few freeholders were citizens. So why does the Constitution talk about “We the People” Why would the framers deliberately use these words?

One can argue that this was an oversight. That the framers meant citizens when the used the words people.

Or one can argue that this was their intention — to set up a legal and moral battlefield that America would fight for the next two hundred years. A battlefield that some would argue is the essence of America.

So perhaps it is better to have an unwritten constitution after all?