If you had a time machine to go back into History and Change one thing. What would you change and why?

[mr bolo]

Originally Posted by Unsettomati

Earth is a planet of apes.

A large, extant bipedal species of ape is the most successful megafauna in the history of this planet, having spread to almost every nook and cranny of it, and existing in numbers and biomass than no species of any significant size has every approached (though some small species, like some ants and small fish, probably have).

An 'ape' is any member of the superfamily Hominoidea - specifically, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and humans.

scientifically speaking, then humans are nothing more than apes with less body hair? we are just a little more advanced than the hairy ape you find in the zoo?

we have a more advanced speech pattern / languages / more of a civilized type of ape man.

We are definitely a close or distant cousin to the hairy apes

[blisterpeanuts]

Originally Posted by mr bolo

scientifically speaking, then humans are nothing more than apes with less body hair? we are just a little more advanced than the hairy ape you find in the zoo?

we have a more advanced speech pattern / languages / more of a civilized type of ape man.

We are definitely a close or distant cousin to the hairy apes

Genetically and evolutionarily, we're first cousins to the chimps and gorillas. We're distant cousins to monkeys.

Chimps in particular are thought to be closest to humans. We had a common ancestor about 7 million years ago, and the two branches of hominids deviated and merged for quite a few millennia thereafter -- i.e., our ancestors and chimp ancestors occasionally mated, making for a rather confusing family tree.

Today, of course, we're not reproductively compatible; chimps are just different enough that human ova will reject a chimp sperm.

I guess if you went back about 6 million years and killed the first few proto-humans, the world would indeed be a different place. Some other branch of apes might have evolved high intelligence, or maybe none at all, and the world would be basically a Garden of Eden for animals.

[redguard57]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

So historically innacurate.

They were learned men, knew of the failures and nature of humans, and studied all other philosophies and forms of government. You speak as if no history existed before they created our system of government. You speak as if there were no debate, no differences of opinion, no thousands of documents supporting each argument and decisions therein.

Franklin even told someone "It's a Republic if you can keep it." when leaving the close of the Constitutional Convention.

And as history has shown since the beginning of time, the problems we have in OUR government result from apathy, laziness, greed and ignorance. OF THE PEOPLE.

Just as the brilliant founders knew, and did their best to provide the maximum freedoms ever known in the history of organized government.

I think if they saw today's system, Hamilton would be emboldened and proven right & the others would realize it. They would go back and create a multi-party parliamentary legislature that looked a lot more like Britain's. That style of democracy works better than a republic with federalism.

The founders would be confused about how we venerate the constitution. They themselves thought it would be changed a lot more than it has been and would probably want to make it easier to modify.

They did not expect political parties. Not at all. But they inadvertently created them to be essential and disproportionately powerful with the way the Constitution is set up.