World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[J T]

This thread is called "so the whole world is kind of falling apart" and is informally used as the political subforum of this forum. If you don't like politics, there are many other threads and subforums to choose from, though I do think we all can benefit from listening to each other and I would hope we can all improve on the level of respect we give one another.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Agreed. I like the discussion here. I use it to gauge public sentiment on a variety of issues, and I find the discussion very informative (especially when I do not agree with the poster's point of view).

Also, as Plato wrote:

The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.

[Exhuminator]

Plato also wrote:

"Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty."

[prfsnl_gmr]

...which is why I am thankful that I live constitutional republic (rather than the anarchy/democracy/mob rule described in The Republic).

[MrPopo]

All government systems suck because eventually someone who sucks at it gets put in charge. With older autocratic systems the highly centralized power in a single or small number of individuals meant you could very quickly go from good rulership to absolute sucktown overnight. Representational democratic systems spread things out enough that you need a lot of terrible people, so ideally the rate of incoming suck equals the outgoing suck. In practice in the US the incumbency rate is so high that the suck slowly builds up over time, like a tree frog saturating its skin with the poison of the insects it eats. And then full on one-for-one democracy is basically autocracy where the autocrat at least has to have enough charisma to convince everyone he knows what's best, rather than falling back on divine right of kings or something similar.

[Exhuminator]

...which is why I am thankful that I live constitutional republic

You mean the constitution that is as malleable as it is amendable?

[prfsnl_gmr]

...which is why I am thankful that I live constitutional republic

You mean the constitution that is as malleable as it is amendable?

In its 200+ year history, the U.S. Constitution has been amended only 27 times. 11 of those amendments were ratified within a few months of its adoption, one amendment cancels out another, and the only truly significant changes resulted from the bloodiest war in our nation's history. In the current political climate, that document isn't changing anytime soon.

Also, the U.S. Constitution is nowhere near as "malleable" as most people think. 99.99% of its meaning is perfectly clear, and only the narrowest issues come up for decision. (That is, no one contests the document's basic principles, and 200+ years of constitutional jurisprudence have settled most of the issues subject to interpretation.)

So...in the end... I guess that you are correct. The U.S. Constitution is as neither malleable nor amendable.

[ElkinFencer10]

Two great Winston Churchill quotes.

[Michi]

Agreed. I like the discussion here. I use it to gauge public sentiment on a variety of issues, and I find the discussion very informative (especially when I do not agree with the poster's point of view).

Agreed. Apart from a handful of heated moments (which were expected) and surprise personal attacks (which weren't), I've found this thread to be very enlightening about world issues.

[Exhuminator]

the only truly significant changes resulted from the bloodiest war in our nation's history

Yes abolishing slavery was a pretty significant amendment.

However, I don't know about you, but I consider the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be immune to unwarranted search and seizure, the right to due process, and the right to a trial by jury, to all be seriously important amendments.

Also, giving women the right to vote, instituting a federal income tax, restricting presidential terms to two max, stopping people from suing states, stopping congress from giving themselves pay raises in the same term, making senators elected by the people and not state legislature... all very important amendments IMO.

Much of the way we live our lives today, the type of life we take for granted, is due to the malleability of the original constitution due to amendments. I cannot agree that the constitution hasn't had many significant changes. Nor can I agree it isn't subject to the possibility of further significant changes by amendment.

And that's why living under a constitutional republic doesn't mean as much to me. Not when the republic can vote to change that constitution as they see fit. So far thankfully, it has been mostly for the good of the people. Hopefully that will always be the case.