--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact that the Constitution is…" description: "\"The fact that the Constitution is sufficiently open-ended to infuriate all Americans almost equally is part of its enduring genius.\" — Dahlia Lithwick" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/dahlia-lithwick-17366_constitution_the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-suffic_1665905.jpg" --- # The fact that the Constitution is sufficiently open-ended… ![“The fact that the Constitution is sufficiently open-ended to infuriate all Americans almost equally is part of its enduring genius.” quote by Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/dahlia-lithwick-17366_constitution_the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-suffic_1665905.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/dahlia-lithwick-17366_constitution_the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-suffic_1665905.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/dahlia-lithwick-17366_constitution_the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-suffic_1665905.jpg) > “The fact that the Constitution is sufficiently open-ended to infuriate all Americans almost equally is part of its enduring genius.” [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Constitution’s flexibility allows diverse interpretations, provoking equal frustration across political lines, which sustains its lasting relevance. **In simple terms:** Flexibility fuels debate, keeping it vital. Key Takeaway Embrace open-endedness for lasting impact. Themes politics law interpretation Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - legal education - public discourse - civic engagement Key Concepts constitutional theory pluralism Questions to Reflect On - How does openness shape democratic resilience? - When does flexibility hinder decisive action? A Different Perspective Flexibility can also cause paralysis and conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans Equally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-equally-808314/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Sufficiently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-sufficiently-808313/) [Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Enduring Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enduring-genius-808315/) [Equally Enduring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equally-enduring-808317/) [Fact Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-constitution-808316/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ## Related quotes > [My number one objective continues to be to defund or delay the implementation of Obamacare. 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Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [“This is how they are able to continue and endure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/this-is-how-they-are-able-to-continue-and-endure/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-love-the-light-for-it-shows-me-the-way-yet-i-will-endure-the/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [It is impossible to build enduring institutions without solid values. For us, the fundamental value is that associated with democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-henrique-cardoso/it-is-impossible-to-build-enduring-institutions-without-solid-values/) [Fernando Henrique Cardoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-henrique-cardoso/) > [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. 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But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) ## More by Dahlia Lithwick > [Never believe in any faith younger than you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/never-believe-in-any-faith-younger-than-you-are/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I think particularly on the left, progressives wanted more bombast and more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-think-particularly-on-the-left-progressives-wanted-more-bombast-and/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Thurgood Marshall was uniquely able to understand and comprehend what it meant to grow up in the Jim Crow south.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/thurgood-marshall-was-uniquely-able-to-understand-and-comprehend-what/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Taking legislative authority away from the federal government doesn't necessarily mean freer individuals. It might just mean granting vastly more authority to the states--which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/taking-legislative-authority-away-from-the-federal-government-doesn-t/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [There can be no difference between same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples anywhere in the USA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/there-can-be-no-difference-between-same-sex-couples-and-opposite-sex/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Over the past few years, the Supreme Court was six times more likely to accept cases from an elite group of 66 lawyers than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/over-the-past-few-years-the-supreme-court-was-six-times-more-likely/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I've been thinking so much about how grateful I am to cover the court because the constraints of calm and civility are really palpable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-ve-been-thinking-so-much-about-how-grateful-i-am-to-cover-the-court/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [ I'm hardly the first person to say that you've \[Jeffrey Rosen\] written a book about a person who has more to say about the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-m-hardly-the-first-person-to-say-that-you-ve-jeffrey-rosen-written/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [We don't care what the framers would have thought of violent video games. Times are changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/we-don-t-care-what-the-framers-would-have-thought-of-violent-video/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [ A lot of conservative writers have twisted that argument in the conversation around Judge \[Gonzalo\] Curiel and said this is identity politics as played… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/a-lot-of-conservative-writers-have-twisted-that-argument-in-the/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Even Merrick Garland can't get up and give a press conference in which he says, "Give me a damn vote." We just hear silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/even-merrick-garland-can-t-get-up-and-give-a-press-conference-in/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [For the most part, much of the legal world's attention has been focused on Donald Trump and his attacks on Gonzalo Curiel, the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/for-the-most-part-much-of-the-legal-world-s-attention-has-been/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I just don't think we think about jurists as rock stars or great thinkers, particularly in the political world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-just-don-t-think-we-think-about-jurists-as-rock-stars-or-great/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [The Framers were no more interested in binding future Americans to a set of divinely inspired commandments than any of us would wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/the-framers-were-no-more-interested-in-binding-future-americans-to-a/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [One of the things that drives me batty is people who think they're court watchers, who say, "Oh, Clarence Thomas. 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If such has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/i-am-apprehensive-sir-that-in-the-warmth-of-my-feelings-i-may-have/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) [Browse all 4,507 Constitution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fact that the Constitution is sufficiently open-ended to infuriate all Americans almost equally is part of its enduring genius.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dahlia Lithwick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-sufficiently-open-ended-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Constitution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-sufficiently-open-ended-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/dahlia-lithwick-17366_constitution_the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-suffic_1665905.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/dahlia-lithwick-17366_constitution_the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-suffic_1665905.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/dahlia-lithwick-17366_constitution_the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-suffic_1665905.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fact that the Constitution is sufficiently open-ended to infuriate all Americans almost equally is part…” — Dahlia Lithwick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dahlia Lithwick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The fact that the Constitution is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-sufficiently-open-ended-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/the-fact-that-the-constitution-is-sufficiently-open-ended-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```