A More Perfect Union For $1
By Jonathan Karl/CNN
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 1) -- A group of Virginia middle school students want you to know the U.S. Constitution better, so they are trying to place a copy in your wallet.
The students want to put an abridged copy of the Constitution on the back of the dollar bill. They hail from, appropriately enough, Liberty Middle School in Ashland, Va.
"If we put the Constitution on the back of the one dollar bill, what'll happen is you'll have Americans talking about it. They'll get to know their Constitution better as they talk about it, they debate it, read about it," said civics teacher Randy Wright.
Not yet old enough to vote, the students are walking the halls of Capitol Hill to get support for their idea. Changing the dollar bill requires an act of Congress.
"You want to pump these guys up so you'll get this bill co-sponsored," Wright said to his pupils.
The students already have 27 co-sponsors, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
"If the committee chairs would come on board, this is a very feel-good provision that I'm sure a lot of people would support," said Paul Prososki, a legislative aide.
But they have run into stumbling blocks, including one question about what they would do if the Constitution is amended.
One student commented, "With one of the people we were talking to, he said, 'How many co-sponsors do you have,' and I said 27, and at first, I was very happy about that. And then he said, 'Well, you need 218.' When I found that out, it felt like my heart sank."
But if the students don't lose their enthusiasm, a dollar bill may be a small price to pay for a good civics lesson.
And maybe the nation will become a more perfect union.
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