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在200多年后，美国宪法(U.S. Constitution)仍然在规定和限制美国政府的权力，并保证美国人民的权利。美国宪法，或者任何国家的宪法，如何能在这个日益变化的世界上保持有效性？宪法文本当年由乘坐马车前往制宪会议(Constitutional Convention)的男性起草，其中有些人甚至还拥有奴隶，今天为什么依然适用？

对于许多人来说，答案是：宪法是一个“活的文件”。除非予以特定的修正，宪法的文字不变，但法官、国会议员和公民对宪法文字的诠释是会变化的。现在，国家宪法中心(National Constitution Center)可以让你了解宪法的发展、随时间而改变和适应新形势的过程。

你可以查看 “互动宪法”(Interactive Constitution) 。“互动宪法”将宪法文本和容易理解的（这一点可以保证！）著名学者的说明配合起来。有时，学者们会有不同意见。这对发展变化中的文件来说是正常的。

目前160多个国家有成文宪法。（其他国家有不成文宪法，在此情况下，习俗、惯例和法律先例起到相同的作用。）谷歌(Google)有一个很好用的英语和阿拉伯语工具，可以让你在关键问题上，比如妇女权利、言论自由、宗教和选举法方面对不同宪法进行比较。

在1987年美国宪法两百周年纪念之际，最高法院（Supreme Court）大法官瑟古德·马歇尔(Thurgood Marshall)警告说，不要让这个场合变成“仅仅是对现存放在国家档案馆保管库里的原始文件盲目的朝圣之旅。”

你们国家的宪法是否反映了民意，是否体现了人民对政府应在自己的生活中发挥什么作用的看法？你最感到骄傲的是什么? 你会希望看到什么改变？

After 200-plus years, the U.S. Constitution still defines and limits the powers of American government and guarantees the rights of the American people. How can it, or any nation’s constitution, remain effective in a world that changes every day? How can words drafted by men who traveled to the Constitutional Convention in horse-drawn carriages and (some of whom) owned slaves remain relevant today?

For many, the answer is that a constitution is a “living document.” The words don’t change, unless specifically amended, but the way judges, lawmakers and citizens interpret them does. And now the National Constitution Center lets you watch as the Constitution evolves, changes over time and adapts to new circumstances.

Check out the Interactive Constitution. It pairs the document text with easily understood (promise!) explanations from leading scholars. Sometimes the scholars disagree. That happens with living documents.

Today more than 160 countries have written constitutions. (Others have unwritten ones, where customs, usage and legal precedent serve the same functions.) Google has a great English and Arabic language tool that lets you compare constitutions on key issues like women’s rights, free speech, religion and election laws.

At the U.S. Constitution’s bicentennial in 1987, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall warned against letting the occasion become “little more than a blind pilgrimage to the shrine of the original document now stored in a vault in the National Archives.”

Does your constitution reflect the role you think government should play in your life? What are you most proud of, and what would you want to see changed?