Warning labels on the Constitution
A company called Wilder Publications decided to put a warning label on its copies of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, Articles of Confederation, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, and other historical documents. The warning reads:
“This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.”
The company has come under a lot of fire for this warning, and I think the criticism is deserved. A warning label might make sense for historical documents that actually are controversial and express hateful or otherwise offensive beliefs. But the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are the basis of the American legal system. There’s nothing offensive about limited government!
I would hope that the beliefs about political philosophy expressed in the Constitution and Declaration remain mostly unchanged and that the Constitution would be basically the same if it was written today. It would be a sad thing if people widely considered the Constitution to be a quaint, old fashioned, historical document that is no longer relevant.
H/T: Rational Nation USA and Fox News