Following my visit to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia I was left with a great deal of respect for the creators of this nation and its Constitution... and full of opinion. Here are some thoughts.

Perhaps it is the fact that most Americans don't generally understand the spirit in which the Constitution was written or perhaps its the effect of partisan politics or the result of the advanced capitalism which dominates today that causes the problems people have with America today. I can't help feeling that America really could be a role model state if it stuck more closely to its founding principals.

That said I was surprised by the concept of consciously omitting topics from legislation - a tactic apparently employed in America today as much as it was at the inception of the Constitution when slavery was omitted as a contentious topic.

I also became accutely aware that the gap between the rights and responsibilities of State vs Federal government could give rise not only to areas of conflict where both want jurisdiction, but also areas of neglect where neither want to do anything.