The editorial in this morning's newspaper focused on a 2004 federal law, which dictates every school and college receiving federal funds must teach about the Constitution on or about the 17th of September (the day in 1787 the document was passed for ratification by delegates to the Constitutional Convention). The editorial denounced the intrusion of the federal government into education, claiming local schools already do that well enough: a highly debatable statement, as so few Americans know American history.

I, for one, hope that schools are pressured to teach about the Constitution, but not in the sterile, one-sided way it was taught to me in high school many years ago. I would like teachers and professors to highlight the fact that only wealthy, "privileged," white males attended the Constitutional Convention while few of the common farmers, craftspeople, and workers even knew about the meeting, and none were invited to attend. I would like students to know many of those privileged delegates are on record that they feared the uneducated, emotional masses, believed a stable society was possible only if these "commoners" were kept under control, and dreaded the thought of true democracy, which is a political system demanding the participation of, and promising political equality to, commoners. I would like students to be made aware of the truth that although our hallowed Constitution does not appear to be prejudiced against any group or class of people, it is highly biased toward rich, influential, white males.

Creating a bicameral Congress gave advantage to privileged senators and their peers, for although a few states allowed commoners to participate in the selection of senators, most required senators to be chosen by the men of state legislatures--privileged, white men. Also, as demanded by the delegates to the convention, commoners were denied the privilege of advising their senators how to vote; privileged males of sate legislatures retained that privilege.

Elections for the Senate are staggered, one third of the seats every two years. We, commoners are taught in public school this assures continuity of leadership, and indeed it does: leadership of the wealthy. The delegates knew commoners would turn out in numbers on highly emotional issues and win Senate seats in states they controlled. But they also knew passionate causes have short lives and believed the ignorant masses unable to sustain a prolonged effort of four, and possibly six, years: a belief verified often during the past two centuries.

The new Constitution gave the House of Representatives the power to create tax legislation, but to temper taxation of their wealth, privileged men of the Senate held amendment powers over House bills.

As originally passed, commoners were automatically excluded from serving in the judicial branch of government, as only men with legal experience were chosen to serve on the bench and few, if any, commoners were lawyers. But, to absolutely guarantee control of the new central government, the delegates created the "Electoral College." Delegates to the college originally held the privilege of electing the President and Vice-President of the United States. In most of the thirteen states the privileged men of state legislatures held the privilege of choosing college delegates.

In 1787, the Articles of Confederation was the official Constitution of the thirteen colonies and it required colonial legislatures to amend or change it. The delegates, however, demanded ratification of their proposed, new constitution by special colonial conventions, and not the official legislatures. This was ultimately done. It may have been illegal, but it was brilliant strategy. It eliminated the awkwardness--and uncertain results--of state politicians having to relinquish some of their own powers to a central authority, and because a special convention ceases to exist once it is adjourned, it eliminated the possibility of a legislator changing his vote in a future meeting of the legislature.

In essence, the Constitution was foisted upon the colonists without the knowledge or approval of common Americans. It is the document, and the two-part Congress the device, which has allowed privileged white men to keep control of government for more than two hundred years. They are the reasons the economic gap between privileged and common Americans have never been breached, but continue to widen.

The easiest way to change the destructive consequences produced by this biased political system is to transform our pseudo-representative democracy into a direct democracy, which is the only true democracy, for it is a political system holding the potential to curb the greed and power abuse of individuals and groups, and to create a truly free and just society.