Dear Whoopi Goldberg:
Posted on September 14, 2008
The Thirteenth Amendment is part of the United States Constitution. So is the fourteenth and the fifteenth; all three passed after the enormous blood shed in the American Civil War convinced the nation that the Constitution had to be changed to give former slaves both their freedom and full citizenship.
For those who don’t know to what I refer, you can watch the video at this YouTube link.
The panel on the television show, The View, was discussing federal judges and judicial appointments, as no doubt you’ve heard by now. Senator McCain, as you can see in the video, answered a question to the effect that he would nominate justices to the Supreme Court who would “strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States”.
Whoopi Goldberg disclosed her understanding of that answer with her question, “should I worry about being a slave–being returned to slavery, because certain things happened in the Constitution that you had to change.” She’s correct that certain things “happened in the Constitution” that had to change. Thanks to President Lincoln, the abolitionists who got him elected, the Army, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead over the issue (and other issues, I know), “things that happened in the Constitution” did change.
The 13th Amendment says, in part, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The 14th Amendment says, in part, that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The 15th Amendment says, in part, that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
What Whoopi Goldberg does not grasp (and I don’t particularly blame her, as these things are not well taught any more) is that she wants strict constructionists. The meaning of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to our Constitution is pretty clear. She (if she had ever had been) is no longer a slave, and not one of us could ever in the present or future be a slave. Period. No person can be deprived of due process of law, and no one can be deprived of his or her right to vote.
That’s what the Constitution says, because it has been amended to say so. A strict constructionist would have to look at the intent of the Framers of the Constitution. In this case it would be the framers of these three amendments. A strict constructionist would look at the context of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and say, “Of course, the Americans who made this part of the Constitution, especially in the context of this happening just after the Civil War, intend that no person, and certainly not Black people, are ever to be slaves for any reason.”
A strict constructionist would look to the intent of those who drafted those Amendments (which, once again, are now part of the Constitution) and refrain from in any way eroding those protections.
A proponent of a “living, breathing Constitution” may…just might…someday…maybe…decide that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in the United States” means something else given potential changes in public attitudes.
So does Whoopi Goldberg prefer a strict interpretation of the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery for all time, or would she and her legacy prefer justices and judges who might not look to what the Framers of the 13th Amendment intended and someday decide that the 13th Amendment has lived, breathed, and evolved?
Would Whoopi Goldberg prefer that the 13th Amendment means what is says, or that there is the potential that five of nine justices of the Supreme Court might some day decide that it means something else?
» Filed Under Activist Judges, Education, History, News, U.S. Constitution, Video
Trackback URL
Comments
9 Responses to “Dear Whoopi Goldberg:”
Leave a Reply
In regards to the Constitution and Constitutional law, Whoopi Goldberg has proven herself to be 100% ignorant although she thinks she is more knowledgable.
The 13th Amendment says, in part, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Now someone please tell that to Obama with his Orwellian mandatory community service ideas. Funny that Whoopi asked that question of McCain.
“So when I’m President, I will set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year. This means that by the time you graduate college, you’ll have done 17 weeks of service.
We’ll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we’ll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities. At the community level, we’ll develop public-private partnerships so students can serve more outside the classroom.”
Now there is someone who does not understand or respect the constitution. He also doesn’t seem to grasp that the people do not serve the President. Obama has it backwards.
“Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.” – Comrade Michelle Obama
Well gee thanks for the warning Michelle.
I knew Whoopi Goldberg was old, but holy smokes!
The fearmongering keeps escalating. If you don’t vote for Sen. Obama, you’re racist. If you say anything negative, you’re racist. If you just breathe air and aren’t a minority, you’re racist. And, if you’re Republican, you want to repeal the 13th Amendment and own yourself a handful of slaves.
I just hope this doesn’t end up violently on election night. If so, those race-baiter’s “chickens will come home to roost”, but it’ll be the innocents who pay.
What’s wrong with a comfort zone anyhow? Should I be forced to move into a “discomfort zone” just because Barack says so?
Uhhhh… That would be NO.
She should stick to the TEN FORWARD wearing that funny hat
What we see displayed by Whoopi Goldberg’s asinity is:
constitutional ignorance in Full Monty-mode.
It’s funny how she says this when the republican party was founded by ANTI-SLAVERY activists. Whoopi and every other person who feels the same way out there needs a history lesson.
McCain said he wanted it strictly based on the FOUNDING FATHERS, which implies 1789, when slavery was legally allowed, decided by state.
And remember, the Civil War was fought over state’s rights, Lincoln was AGAINST state’s rights, today’s Republican party is FOR state’s rights. Things changed a lot in the 1950’s when the Republicans fought FOR segregation (that sound like a stance Lincoln would hold?). Convenient how the Party of Lincoln forgets their own history.
L, everything you just typed is incorrect. Everything.
You don’t have to believe me because I said so.
I just pity you.