As one whose distant relatives came over on the Mayflower (and perished shortly thereafter, with other relatives following in their footsteps), and whose relatives were also among the falsely accused in the Salem Witch Trials, I feel I must point out that many of our lesser known "founding fathers" were simple folk who just wanted to be left in peace to raise their kids & live their chosen lives. The fact that some of them were learned & brilliant, as well as incredibly bigoted & grasping, does not quite diminish what they created in the Constitution.
It behooves everyone, though, to read that august document with a huge chunk of salt. These people were human and products of their time. While they tried to use their 'crystal balls' to best advantage, they had no clue what lengths humanity would achieve technologically, ethically, or morally. Or to what depths we would sink.
To revere the Constitution as infallible is just as dangerous and ludicrous as revering the Bible, a document only written EONS after the tales it supposedly tells, as infallible. I firmly believe the whole thing was meant as a guideline to governing in their present, and for enlightening future generations as to what they fervently hoped would take place. I do not believe it was ever intended to serve as an ironclad set of rules by which future citizens should live.
Most of us have had the privilege to ignore the violent faction of the American populace, but meanwhile, Trump was nurturing, encouraging that same faction. Sometimes we are a nation of laws, but sometimes we are a nation that uses violence to attempt to solve its problems, with implied encouragement from the Declaration of Independence and the FF. After all they declared war in order to separate from England.
What I want to know is, what is the goal of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Stop the Steal, other than to use violence to overthrow the federal government? It doesn't seem to be anything useful like forcing the government to implement a national health care plan. I'd be willing to bet none of the members of these groups vote but they felt inspired to attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another. Meanwhile, too many of us have no sense of empowerment to actually change anything or improve the system, even though we vote regularly.
This is a potential historical take on how the United States system breaks down--the small but violent faction feels empowered to attempt to overthrow the government while millions of non-violent voters are overcome by a sense of disempowerment and/or complacency (not knowing what to do beyond voting) that has also been nurtured by the Republican Party for going on for more than a decade. Continue to impede all progress, refuse to pass helpful laws, get the American public used to the idea that the federal government cannot solve any problems before it so that we citizens simply stop expecting anything to get accomplished (except abortion bans). It's disempowerment (death) by a thousand cuts. We might have already passed the point where the system can be reformed without resorting to violence and we're just deluding ourselves that voting will matter.
I’m in camp the revered founding fathers were nothing but rapists pedophiles drunks slavers that had a temper tantrum because they couldn’t be King. The Constitution was a lucky byproduct that still reflected their personalities.
As one whose distant relatives came over on the Mayflower (and perished shortly thereafter, with other relatives following in their footsteps), and whose relatives were also among the falsely accused in the Salem Witch Trials, I feel I must point out that many of our lesser known "founding fathers" were simple folk who just wanted to be left in peace to raise their kids & live their chosen lives. The fact that some of them were learned & brilliant, as well as incredibly bigoted & grasping, does not quite diminish what they created in the Constitution.
It behooves everyone, though, to read that august document with a huge chunk of salt. These people were human and products of their time. While they tried to use their 'crystal balls' to best advantage, they had no clue what lengths humanity would achieve technologically, ethically, or morally. Or to what depths we would sink.
To revere the Constitution as infallible is just as dangerous and ludicrous as revering the Bible, a document only written EONS after the tales it supposedly tells, as infallible. I firmly believe the whole thing was meant as a guideline to governing in their present, and for enlightening future generations as to what they fervently hoped would take place. I do not believe it was ever intended to serve as an ironclad set of rules by which future citizens should live.
Most of us have had the privilege to ignore the violent faction of the American populace, but meanwhile, Trump was nurturing, encouraging that same faction. Sometimes we are a nation of laws, but sometimes we are a nation that uses violence to attempt to solve its problems, with implied encouragement from the Declaration of Independence and the FF. After all they declared war in order to separate from England.
What I want to know is, what is the goal of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Stop the Steal, other than to use violence to overthrow the federal government? It doesn't seem to be anything useful like forcing the government to implement a national health care plan. I'd be willing to bet none of the members of these groups vote but they felt inspired to attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another. Meanwhile, too many of us have no sense of empowerment to actually change anything or improve the system, even though we vote regularly.
This is a potential historical take on how the United States system breaks down--the small but violent faction feels empowered to attempt to overthrow the government while millions of non-violent voters are overcome by a sense of disempowerment and/or complacency (not knowing what to do beyond voting) that has also been nurtured by the Republican Party for going on for more than a decade. Continue to impede all progress, refuse to pass helpful laws, get the American public used to the idea that the federal government cannot solve any problems before it so that we citizens simply stop expecting anything to get accomplished (except abortion bans). It's disempowerment (death) by a thousand cuts. We might have already passed the point where the system can be reformed without resorting to violence and we're just deluding ourselves that voting will matter.
I’m in camp the revered founding fathers were nothing but rapists pedophiles drunks slavers that had a temper tantrum because they couldn’t be King. The Constitution was a lucky byproduct that still reflected their personalities.