RE: Louisiana Shooter Was Far Right Nut
July 25, 2015 at 11:02 am
(This post was last modified: July 25, 2015 at 11:03 am by tjakey.)
I don't think we give the authors of the Constitution enough credit, and I think they might have given us too much credit. These were people living on the breaking crest of the enlightenment. I suspect they were well aware that the country was going to evolve in ways they could not possibly foresee. With that in mind they deliberately worded their documents to a) provide the general outline of the free, democratic, self-governing country they were trying to found, b) establish a government with checks and balances on concentrations of power – including federal courts, while c) knowing those documents would have to be interpreted in light of social conditions of which they could not even guess.
From what I have read of their communications they were certainly aware that slavery was going to be an ongoing and bitter point of conflict. They debated the gun issue, corporate powers, and economic models. These were people with a radical view of human potential while knowing full well the capacity of human failure, and knew that nothing is stagnant. I think the very idea that anyone would use their “original intent” as a weapon against progress, civil rights, life, and liberty, would horrify them.
Unfortunately they assumed that the America of 21st century would be as dedicated to enlightenment, liberty, progress, and democracy as they were themselves. In that they were sadly mistaken.
From what I have read of their communications they were certainly aware that slavery was going to be an ongoing and bitter point of conflict. They debated the gun issue, corporate powers, and economic models. These were people with a radical view of human potential while knowing full well the capacity of human failure, and knew that nothing is stagnant. I think the very idea that anyone would use their “original intent” as a weapon against progress, civil rights, life, and liberty, would horrify them.
Unfortunately they assumed that the America of 21st century would be as dedicated to enlightenment, liberty, progress, and democracy as they were themselves. In that they were sadly mistaken.
