--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who would give us a \"living\"…" description: "\"Those who would give us a \"living\" Constitution are actually giving us a dead one, since such a thing is completely unable to protect us against the en..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/kevin-gutzman-45277_constitution_those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constit_1747648.jpg" --- # Those who would give us a "living" Constitution are… ![“Those who would give us a "living" Constitution are actually giving us a dead one, since such a thing is completely unable to protect us against the encroachments of government power.” quote by Kevin Gutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/kevin-gutzman-45277_constitution_those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constit_1747648.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/kevin-gutzman-45277_constitution_those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constit_1747648.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/kevin-gutzman-45277_constitution_those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constit_1747648.jpg) > “Those who would give us a "living" Constitution are actually giving us a dead one, since such a thing is completely unable to protect us against the encroachments of government power.” [Kevin Gutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gutzman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A "living" Constitution is ineffective; it fails to guard against government overreach, making it essentially dead. **In simple terms:** A static Constitution can't stop government power. Key Takeaway Seek true constitutional safeguards. Themes government law rights constitution Mood critical concerned Type political philosophical When to use this quote - legislative drafting - judicial review - citizen activism Key Concepts checks and balances rule of law civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - How can a Constitution stay relevant? - What mechanisms protect against power abuse? A Different Perspective A living document may adapt better to change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-actually-1575685/) [Dead Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-thing-342895/) [Encroachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encroachment/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-dead-1575686/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-power/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-constitution-436802/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) ## Related quotes > [A 'living constitution' is a dead constitution, because it does not do the one and only thing a written constitution is supposed to do:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/a-living-constitution-is-a-dead-constitution-because-it-does-not-do/) [Kevin Gutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gutzman/) > [Giving is dead, restoring very sicke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/giving-is-dead-restoring-very-sicke/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Dead was the gift that kept on giving. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Being dead was one thing, getting ready for a wedding another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-stratton-porter/being-dead-was-one-thing-getting-ready-for-a-wedding-another/) [Gene Stratton-Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-stratton-porter/) > [“A tethered thing is a dead thing...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-hartnett/a-tethered-thing-is-a-dead-thing/) [Sonya Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-hartnett/) > [The past is the only dead thing that smells sweet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/the-past-is-the-only-dead-thing-that-smells-sweet/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [My fishing hole is deader than...a dead thing that's dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-riley/my-fishing-hole-is-deader-than-a-dead-thing-that-s-dead/) [Tom Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-riley/) > [Hate is a dead thing. Who of you would be a tomb?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/hate-is-a-dead-thing-who-of-you-would-be-a-tomb/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## More by Kevin Gutzman > [I don't think America needs 28,000 men on Okinawa. I don't think we need an army in Germany. What's it for, to protect Germans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/i-don-t-think-america-needs-28-000-men-on-okinawa-i-don-t-think-we/) [Kevin Gutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gutzman/) > [I think there's no doubt that George Washington was the most important American to this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/i-think-there-s-no-doubt-that-george-washington-was-the-most/) [Kevin Gutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gutzman/) > [In fact, we haven't ever really recalibrated our foreign policy commitments since the end of the Cold War. 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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": "Those who would give us a \"living\" Constitution are actually giving us a dead one, since such a thing is completely unable to protect us against the encroachments of government power.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kevin Gutzman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constitution-are-actually-giving-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Constitution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constitution-are-actually-giving-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/kevin-gutzman-45277_constitution_those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constit_1747648.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/kevin-gutzman-45277_constitution_those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constit_1747648.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/kevin-gutzman-45277_constitution_those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constit_1747648.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who would give us a \"living\" Constitution are actually giving us a dead one, since such a thing is…” — Kevin Gutzman", "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": "Kevin Gutzman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gutzman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who would give us a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constitution-are-actually-giving-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gutzman/those-who-would-give-us-a-living-constitution-are-actually-giving-us/#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 } } ] } ```