What is a Constitution?

A constitution is a set of rules that govern the behavior of a state. The word “ought” expresses a duty or obligation but is not the same as a rule.  The US Constitution does not have one occurrence of the word “ought” in it. 

But the word “ought” appears six times in the Rhode Island Constitution, Article 1. eg;

• “the burdens of the state ought to be fairly distributed among its citizens”  
• “Every person ought to obtain right and justice freely”. 
• “punishments ought to be proportioned to the offense”.

Our constitution should follow the US Constitution and state the rules clearly and positively with no ambiguity.

• “the burdens of the state shall be fairly distributed among its citizens”  
• “Every person shall obtain right and justice freely”. 
• “punishments shall to be proportioned to the offense”.

would be language befitting our constitution.

Maybe it's just me.