ELIE MYSTAL, Justice Correspondent for The Nation magazine and a contributor to MSNBC, opens his first book, ALLOW ME TO RETORT: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, with the following words: “Our Constitution is not good. It is a document designed to create a society of enduring white male dominance, hastily edited in the margins to allow for what basic political rights white men could be convinced to share.” The starting point is that far from perfect, this document of compromises necessary to win ratification from slaveowners is unworthy of the veneration promoted by the Right and accepted by too many on the Left. Once we get over that, perhaps we can roll up our sleeves and get to work to bring some of its underlying ideals to fuller realization in the real world.
