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Yes and no. For the purposes of this discussion, "government" means centralized federal government. Clearly all of the founders were in favor of local and state government.
One could make the argument that the Federalists weren't anti-government, but that's a harder argument to make about the anti-Federalists. The way the Constitution turned out is much more anti-Federalist than it was Federalist.
The federalist won in that compromise.
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at least until the Civil War. Until then, the Federal government only did a very small number of things and was viewed as inferior to state governments.
Well because the US was still mostly a trading post for Europe. Coincidentally, the federal government became more powerful as the US became more powerful.
Small government/more local control works when you trying to be a small fish in a big pond.
Just WHAT distinguishes an 'artificial' country from a 'real' one?
Iraq is an artificial country. The Brits and French drew arbitrary lines in the desert without regard to the cultures and values of the people. Iraq has a non-functional government because the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds share little beyond those arbitrary lines.
The US is the same thing if you substitute religious sectarianism for ideology and cultural values. We exist as a country only because of lines and a federal government that half the country hates.
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IF there were common values, WHY would there be a left and right?
It seems you're completely overlooking the concept of a democracy.
No, I'm not. A democracy will have differences, but it has to be built on a shared foundation to function effectively. For most countries this is a shared ethnicity and/or religion and the associated cultural practices. Americans never had that, but we did at least share broad political values in the past.
Ideally, the left and right should campaign on issues around the margins. Every election should not be a paradigm shift in the making. The fact that every election is a possible paradigm shift is a huge indicator to me we have an artificial country.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Originally Posted by War Beagle
Iraq is an artificial country. The Brits and French drew arbitrary lines in the desert without regard to the cultures and values of the people. Iraq has a non-functional government because the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds share little beyond those arbitrary lines.
The US is the same thing if you substitute religious sectarianism for ideology and cultural values. We exist as a country only because of lines and a federal government that half the country hates.
So just WHAT would a 'real' country be?
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Originally Posted by War Beagle
No, I'm not. A democracy will have differences, but it has to be built on a shared foundation to function effectively. For most countries this is a shared ethnicity and/or religion and the associated cultural practices. Americans never had that, but we did at least share broad political values in the past.
What ones that no longer exist?
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Originally Posted by War Beagle
Ideally, the left and right should campaign on issues around the margins. Every election should not be a paradigm shift in the making. The fact that every election is a possible paradigm shift is a huge indicator to me we have an artificial country.
I don't believe democracy is the problem, I believe the entrenched two-party system is the biggest threat this country faces. To believe every issue a country faces has only two faces and two solutions is ludicrous.
The real problem is the people that own most of the wealth ARE one of the political parties and rent the other one. The rest of us are left without effective representation. That was the goal when the wealthy landowners in the late 1700's set up the REPUBLIC that is the USA.
I don't believe democracy is the problem, I believe the entrenched two-party system is the biggest threat this country faces. To believe every issue a country faces has only two faces and two solutions is ludicrous.
I agree with you that a proportionate system would be better and add stability to the system.
But question for you: why are you and other leftists so intent on forcing the US to stay together? Why not break the country into parts that are more reflective of prevailing values? Why every 4 years do we have to have an election where the winner will try to ram through an agenda that the other side finds morally reprehensible?
My guess is because the left is hellbent on forcing its opponents to submit to its viewpoints.
i think I'd be less angry if I was older. At least then I'd have fewer years to watch the decline of the U.S.
Part of the anger is also frustration in that leaving the U.S. to live abroad isn't easy. Most nations try to protect jobs for their own citizens, so moving abroad isn't as simple as getting on a plane.
In what specific ways do you feel the US is declining?
We're talking about a country that managed to essentially rip itself apart over slavery.
We did and the country should have been split permanently then. The divide between north and south is essentially the same as it was then. Northerners think southerners are idiots, and southerners hate northerners.
Most Americans don't realize this because they suck at history, but the political factions haven't changed since the civil war. The north is still liberal, the south is still conservative. The northerners look down on the south. And the southerners spit in the Yankees food whenever they get a chance.
In what specific ways do you feel the US is declining?
In almost every way. Probably the most obvious is that it is more likely than not that future generations will be less prosperous than past ones. As I have posted elsewhere, our levels of freedom are decreasing by virtually every index that measures such things.
Your O-P-I-N-I-O-N is noted, and wholeheartedly rejected as being the 'Truth'.
Thanks for confirming my statement. You ARE illiterate.
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