--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our amended Constitution is the lodestar…" description: "\"Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline. The phrasing is broad and the limit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c3/william-j-brennan-15212_ambiguity_our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar_980166.jpg" --- # Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our… ![“Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline. The phrasing is broad and the limitations of its provisions are not clearly marked. Its majestic generalities and ennobling pronouncements are both luminous and obscure. This…” quote by William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c3/william-j-brennan-15212_ambiguity_our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar_980166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c3/william-j-brennan-15212_ambiguity_our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar_980166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c3/william-j-brennan-15212_ambiguity_our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar_980166.jpg) > “Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline. The phrasing is broad and the limitations of its provisions are not clearly marked. Its majestic generalities and ennobling pronouncements are both luminous and obscure. This ambiguity of course calls forth interpretation, the interaction of reader and text. The encounter with the Constitutional text has been, in many senses, my life's work.” [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) ## 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 guides aspirations but is vague, requiring interpretation and reader interaction. **In simple terms:** The Constitution is a guiding yet ambiguous framework. Key Takeaway Interpret and apply its broad principles wisely. Themes law interpretation aspiration ambiguity Mood reflective serious Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - legislative drafting - judicial review - citizen education - policy making Key Concepts constitutional law public policy philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What principles should guide interpretation? - How to balance clarity with flexibility? A Different Perspective Vagueness can lead to conflicting applications. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) [Aspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Encounters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounters/) [Interaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interaction/) [Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Limitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitation/) [Majestic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majestic/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) ## Related quotes > [“Therefore, judges have to reach beyond the apparently impenetrable sphere of meaning by adopting the strategy of unravelling meaning in the constitutional text. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-asok-kumar-ganguly/therefore-judges-have-to-reach-beyond-the-apparently-impenetrable/) [Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-asok-kumar-ganguly/) > [It has been believed for a long time in Japan that things such as the constitution can never be changed. I say we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinzo-abe/it-has-been-believed-for-a-long-time-in-japan-that-things-such-as-the/) [Shinzo Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinzo-abe/) > [We can no longer oversimplify. We can no longer build lazy and false stereotypes: Americans are like this, Russians are like that, a Jew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/we-can-no-longer-oversimplify-we-can-no-longer-build-lazy-and-false/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Just as a chemist "isolates" a substance from contaminations that distort his view of its nature and effects, so the work of art purifies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/just-as-a-chemist-isolates-a-substance-from-contaminations-that/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [No organism can afford to be conscious of matters with which it could deal at unconscious levels. Broadly, we can afford to sink those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/no-organism-can-afford-to-be-conscious-of-matters-with-which-it-could/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [I shall venture to affirm, that there never was a popular religion, which represented the state of departed souls in such a light,as would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/i-shall-venture-to-affirm-that-there-never-was-a-popular-religion/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [God is basic Fact. He must not be thought of as a featureless generality. He is the most concrete thing there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-is-basic-fact-he-must-not-be-thought-of-as-a-featureless/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To the generality of men you cannot give a stronger hint for them to impose upon you than by imposing upon yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/to-the-generality-of-men-you-cannot-give-a-stronger-hint-for-them-to/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [The person who did most to give to analysis the generality and symmetry which are now its pride, was also the person who made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-whewell/the-person-who-did-most-to-give-to-analysis-the-generality-and/) [William Whewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-whewell/) > [It is good sense applied with diligence to what was at first a mere accident, and which by great application grew to be called,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-good-sense-applied-with-diligence-to-what-was-at-first-a-mere/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Some bolder spirits, indeed, might be expected to despise the cautious moderation of these timid reasoners, and to pronounce decisively, that the Bible was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/some-bolder-spirits-indeed-might-be-expected-to-despise-the-cautious/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [I have the vagary of taking a lively interest in mathematical subjects only where I may anticipate ingenious association of ideas and results recommending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/i-have-the-vagary-of-taking-a-lively-interest-in-mathematical/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [It is very rare, indeed, for men to be wrong in their feelings concerning public misconduct; as rare to be right in their speculations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-very-rare-indeed-for-men-to-be-wrong-in-their-feelings/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [People are mostly sane enough, of course, in the affairs of common life: the getting of food, shelter, and so on. But the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/people-are-mostly-sane-enough-of-course-in-the-affairs-of-common-life/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) > [The great generalities of the constitution have a content and a significance that vary from age to age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cardozo/the-great-generalities-of-the-constitution-have-a-content-and-a/) [Benjamin Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cardozo/) ## More by William J. Brennan > [If our free society is to endure, those who govern must recognize human dignity and accept the enforcement of constitutional limitations on their power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/if-our-free-society-is-to-endure-those-who-govern-must-recognize/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Capital punishment...treats members of the human race...as objects to be toyed with and discarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/capital-punishment-treats-members-of-the-human-race-as-objects-to-be/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open and that...may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/debate-on-public-issues-should-be-uninhibited-robust-and-wide-open/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The modern public school derived from a philosophy of freedom reflected in the First Amendment ... The non-sectarian or secular public school was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-modern-public-school-derived-from-a-philosophy-of-freedom/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [If a policeman must know the Constitution, then why not a planner?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/if-a-policeman-must-know-the-constitution-then-why-not-a-planner/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Our statute books gradually became laden with gross, stereotyped distinctions between the sexes and, indeed, throughout much of the 19th century the position of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/our-statute-books-gradually-became-laden-with-gross-stereotyped/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [We cannot let colorblindness become myopia which masks the reality that many "created equal" have been treated within our lifetimes as inferior both by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/we-cannot-let-colorblindness-become-myopia-which-masks-the-reality/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [After each perceived security crisis ended, the United States has remorsefully realized that the abrogation of civil liberties was unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/after-each-perceived-security-crisis-ended-the-united-states-has/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The door of the Free Exercise Clause stands tightly closed against any government regulation of religious beliefs as such. Government may neither compel affirmation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-door-of-the-free-exercise-clause-stands-tightly-closed-against/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [One area of law more than any other besmirches the constitutional vision of human dignity. . . . The barbaric death penalty violates our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/one-area-of-law-more-than-any-other-besmirches-the-constitutional/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [“Thus, we consider this case against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/thus-we-consider-this-case-against-the-background-of-a-profound/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/whether-to-the-average-person-applying-contemporary-community/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The public schools are supported entirely, in most communities, by public funds-funds exacted not only from parents, nor alone from those who hold particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-public-schools-are-supported-entirely-in-most-communities-by/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-genius-of-the-constitution-rests-not-in-any-static-meaning-it/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [If our free society is to endure, and I know it will, those who govern must recognize that the Framers of the Constitution limited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/if-our-free-society-is-to-endure-and-i-know-it-will-those-who-govern/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) [Explore all 43 William J. Brennan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) ## More Ambiguity quotes > [The position is clear - there is no ambiguity in Sinn Fein's position. We, along with all the other parties, have signed up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/the-position-is-clear-there-is-no-ambiguity-in-sinn-fein-s-position/) [Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I blame my grandfather 100 percent for his oldest son's death. I don't think there's any ambiguity there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/i-blame-my-grandfather-100-percent-for-his-oldest-son-s-death-i-don-t/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [I think the relationship between social-dominance orientation in people and the extent to which they're made uncomfortable by ambiguity and novelty is really important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/i-think-the-relationship-between-social-dominance-orientation-in/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [Yet again, an ancient answer echoes across the centuries: Listen! Listen to stories! For what stories do, above all else, is hold up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-kurtz/yet-again-an-ancient-answer-echoes-across-the-centuries-listen-listen/) [Ernest Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-kurtz/) > [My path to wisdom began when I stopped pretending to know things I didn't know. When I explicitly admitted to the limits of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/my-path-to-wisdom-began-when-i-stopped-pretending-to-know-things-i/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [If there is a single tragic flaw that mars our biggest enterprises, it is conservatism - the failure to fail, and fail big, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-there-is-a-single-tragic-flaw-that-mars-our-biggest-enterprises-it/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-order-to-be-as-free-as-i-possibly-can-in-my-own-imagination-i-can/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I've always been drawn to ambiguity in pop music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-ambiguity-in-pop-music/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I am in the utmost perplexity, yand have wished a hundred times, that if there is a A God, nature would manifest him without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-am-in-the-utmost-perplexity-yand-have-wished-a-hundred-times-that/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [There's a lot of ambiguity in life, and so often, our art is very neatly wrapped up at the end, when our lives never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/there-s-a-lot-of-ambiguity-in-life-and-so-often-our-art-is-very/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [“Man must not attempt to dispel the ambiguity of his being but, on the contrary, accept the task of realizing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/man-must-not-attempt-to-dispel-the-ambiguity-of-his-being-but-on-the/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) [Browse all 431 Ambiguity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. 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