by Chris Bonham, Intern Writer with a teen’s perspective

America has often been called the greatest nation on Earth. But what made our country what it is today? Many people would argue many things, but one commonly agreed upon source is the United States Constitution.

Last month we explored the environment into which this document was introduced. It is time to go a bit deeper and examine what the Constitution protects, and how it can be accurately interpreted. To start with, one must realize the difference between interpretation and opinion. Friedrich Nietzche probably said it best: “All things are subject to interpretation; whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.”

What Nietzche was talking about is opinion. Opinion relies less on truth and more on what kind of cultural lens people are viewing society with. An example of opinion is the United States Supreme Court. Every ruling that comes from the court is always referenced as “the opinion of the court.”

This is because each justice has his/her own views and biases. In this article, we won’t be looking at how to formulate an opinion. Instead, we will be looking at how to garner true interpretation.

So, how do you get a true interpretation? Well, the best way is to read what the writers of the Constitution left behind. The best of these historical writings are known as the Federalist Papers. In these papers, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay explain the framework for the Constitution. Another great way of figuring out the original intent of the founders is to look at Supreme Court cases from the late 1700s to about 1850.

These cases are the closest opinion can come to truth, with regards to our legal system. Let’s take a look at a case in point: Amendment 2 specifically refers to the right of the American populace to keep and bear arms. Regardless of your position on gun laws, it is a simple fact that the government passes more stringent laws regarding firearms all the time.

People in opposition to these regulations most often argue that it will inhibit hunters in their use of guns. The question comes down to why this right was included in the Constitution. Was it to protect hunters? Alexander Hamilton wrote, “The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.” Why would the people at large need to be armed? Why did he not speak directly to hunters?

James Madison clarified this point by stating, “Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” Why would the government be afraid of hunters, who comprise a very small percentage of the U.S. population? Madison is perhaps implying that the general citizenry was meant to own weapons so that they could keep the government in check. This is understandable considering the atmosphere of a post-Revolutionary War America.

This simple logical questioning, coupled with a working knowledge of what the founding fathers said,wikipediabv is the strongest and most accurate way to provide a true interpretation of documents like the Constitution. Let’s review what we’ve seen.

Remember our house analogy? In May, we built our foundation and made our blueprints. In this article, we looked at how to make sure those blueprints are interpreted in the correct way. Next month, we will tie this all together and look at what the Constitution really means for Americans, and especially American teens.