These are the documents that underpin everything we're trying to change, our laws, our community statutes, you name it. They can be as fundamental as the Declaration of Independence to as obscure as your union's bylaws. Whatever organization you're attempting to change, make sure you understand their fundamental structure and laws. I picked up a great book about the Constitution called "Your Rugged Constitution" and it is filled with useful information and pictures about what the different articles mean. Senator Byrd (D-WV) encourages all young people to carry a pocket-sized version of the US Constitution with them at all times. I think that's pretty good advice, especially in this time of warrantless government wiretapping and rampant abuses of consumer privacy.

By reading and rereading your founding documents, you can often gain inspiration by knowing that powerful positive changes can take place and may someday be enshrined into law. Just think, at one time African-Americans were considered three-fifths of a human being, until the agitation of the abolitionists and the slaves themselves encouraged the states to amend the Constitution, thereby making all people equal under the law. Imagine the kind of Amendment to the Constitution you would write. What would it do to improve the lives of all Americans?