have we idealized our founding fathers--and their gift of a constitution

[flordehinojos]

to us?

i always thought politics was about doing what is right for the country and for the people.

with bailey hutchinson saying she sees nothing unethical (i may be paraphrasing) in karl rove and what he does, with jeff sessions saying about the same thing, with other republican senators wanting to suspend security cleareance for democratic senators who have used classified information on the senate (floor? -- investigation committees on 9/11?) it is now plain to see that we seem to be governed by the politics of emotions--not by the politics of what is right... and either we have idealized our founding fathers and have misread the blue print they left for us to govern to govern ourselves by what is right---or we have just simply thrown out our founding fathers' gift to us by the wayside--particularly since the bushes have held office--and more than ever we have now become a nation governed not by what is right but a nation governed by the pull of emotional forces...much like those seen in sibling rivalries.

[punpirate]

1. What the founders didn't envision as part of the Constitution...

... was the role of political parties. That's what we're principally dealing with now, a political party leading toward some very unconstitutional governmental behavior.

The Constitution is brilliant in this way--the founders recognized that the country would change, and that they themselves were fallible. They therefore wrote into it the procedure for it to be amended. The major amendments of it enhanced rights for increasing numbers of people--principally to vote, which provides greater opportunity to participate in democratic government.

The problem is that not nearly enough people do vote--in practical terms, a minority of about 30% of the voters is controlling all three branches of government now. With that control, they are attempting to remold the government according to their views, and to ensure their continued hold on power.

I don't think the founders could ever imagine the degree to which money legally influences government today (they knew about corruption, and took some measures to that end).

They didn't trust corporations (because of the East India Company); mention of corporations is not made in the Constitution. At least Jefferson and Madison knew that progressive taxation was an essential to democracy--otherwise money would overwhelm the political process.

Nope, I don't think they can be blamed for what is happening now. To do so would expect them to see much farther into the future than we can. The price of liberty is constant vigilance. People stopped being vigilant, and they've lost their sense of what the common weal means. Those things have enabled a dangerous element in society to gain control.

Cheers.