Is the U.S. Constitution Necessary?

I had a conversation the other day with a young lady about an article I had read in The New York Times which stated that our constitution is no longer the model for the world and suggested that it is becoming dated.
She surprised me by stating rather categorically that she agreed, and that much has changed since that document was drafted and that we should no longer be governed by that old thing that was written for their day. A few days later I heard another young person say similar things.
As hard as it was for me to listen to that, the fact is, a democracy doesn’t have to have a constitution in order for government to function. If we governed our-selves without a constitution, what would change?
Our present constitution divides the power of our federal government among its three branches and allows it to do only certain things. Without it, they could do anything they thought best. Given that we have elected them, why should we here in the 21st century tie our hands to a document drafted in the 18th century?
Our answer depends on what we want out of Washington. If we believe that due to the many differences, which exist from state to state, each state should retain her sovereignty and make most of the decisions for themselves, our current constitution is designed to do that
If we believe that our nation would run best if most of the power were held in Washington, then no constitution, or perhaps a new one might serve better. In-sight into this question is perhaps best supplied by the healthcare lawsuit currently in the U. S. Supreme Court.
The 26 states that brought suit against the federal government say the federal government is attempt-ing to exercise a power which belongs to them alone. Without our carefully-worded current constitution, states would have no basis to challenge the healthcare law, or any law the federal government desired to pass.
Another thing that can be said for our current U. S. Constitution is that if a given state becomes too burdensome to her citizens, they can depart for other states. Take New Jersey as an example; as taxes grew and government became ever more burdensome, some citizens left. If all the real power resided in Washington, there would be no place in the country to go.
In my thinking, for those who are inclined to rip up our Constitution, I ask, is it really a 225-year-old document, or a 20-year-old document, since it has been updated with amendments 27 times, as late as 1992. And let’s say we wanted to start over with a new document, we would have to have enormous confidence in those doing the drafting; my read is that a broad-based citizen confidence does not currently exist in our national leaders.
I am glad that our young people are talking about these things. I hope it will drive them to consider things very carefully.
Art Hall, publisher