But what happens if your neighbors no longer believe in that? Does a constitution still matter, if its values are no longer the values of the people? Who will enforce the constitution, if the people who are supposed to do that no longer want to?

If you live in a free country, your neighbors become a problem before the government does. If they become a problem, the government will often follow, and then you may no longer be living in a free country.

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suburban_strike 19 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Does a constitution still matter, if its values are no longer the values of the people?

Yes, otherwise the incumbents could pull stunts like opening the borders to flood the nation with foreigners, radically redefining who "the people" are in order to dictate what "our values" are.

The entire point of written law is to outlive the whims of human nature.

	▲	jltsiren 18 hours ago \| parent [-]
		How does written law enforce itself if the police and the judges are compromised? Everything is ultimately enforced by people. If people stop believing in something, the government will eventually follow suit. And not just the handful of top leaders elected or appointed for a few years, but most people from the top to the bottom in every branch of the government. Especially the ones with the power to make a difference. The written law may say something, but people in power are very good at twisting its purpose and ignoring it. Especially when that's something everyone expects from you.

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_DeadFred_ 18 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That is why the US government is designed the way it is, with the electoral college, 2 senators per state, etc.

It is all designed to prevent European style tyranny of the majority or mob rule, yet also create a representational state. It's a tricky balance. But our ancestors were, again, murdered or forced to flee half way around the world, so a core concern/reality we work hard to avoid at the cost of slower government/less direct democracy that like you say can change on a whim or easily be directed as a weapon against ones neighbors. We prefer a slow out of touch government that protects freedom/peoples rights than a government that represents short term opinion happy to trample.

	▲	jltsiren 18 hours ago \| parent [-]
		My point was that an oppressive government cannot appear out of nowhere in a free country. The citizens must abandon constitutional values first. If an oppressive government remains in power and maintains its popularity long enough, it will infiltrate all levels of the government and compromise checks and balances. Then, with popular and institutional support, the government can do basically whatever it wants. Regardless of what powers it had before or what the constitution says. You should not be afraid of giving the government new powers simply because it might go bad later. (There are other valid reasons, but that's not one of them.) If the government does go bad, it can take those powers on its own just fine. You should be afraid of your fellow citizens going bad and starting to think that their personal goals and values are more important than constitutional values. Because that's a prerequisite for the government going bad.