The United States of America is a non-Constitutional Republic.
America is currently failing because it has failed to comply with the constitution. How has this happened? Well it originally was caused by the mistakes of the founding fathers! How do we cure the nation? Educate with the logical analysis of problems from the root level.
The United States of America was founded on the principal of the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This simply means that all individuals have the right to live, to have no force used upon them, and to be free to pursue their interests (as long as it does not contradict the right to life or liberty of others). This right to the pursuit of happiness means that all individuals are free to act in whichever way they want, unless it imposes force onto another; it is a right to the freedom of action.
The right to the pursuit of happiness is commonly misunderstood. People commonly mistake the pursuit of happiness for happiness itself, meaning they believe that the constitution promises happiness (goods and/or services) for “free” (i.e. healthcare). What they do not understand is that the constitution does not allow laws to contradict, and that being given goods/services for free by the government in fact contradicts the constitutional right to the liberty of others.
Nothing is “free”. Goods must be paid for in one way or another, so when you get something for “free” through the government, others are forced to pay for your goods through taxation. The property of others is being forcefully stolen. Taxation violates the constitution as it contradicts the right to liberty.
Once it becomes governmentally acceptable to contradict the constitution, there is no basis to stopping additional unconstitutional acts from occurring – the constitution becomes futile. For example, once it is made possible to impose taxes for certain things, there is no basis for stopping more taxes from occurring. The USA’s constitutional republic has become a non-constitutional republic, and now legality is determined by governmental figures and without limitations. This will inevitably cause democracy (tyranny of the majority), corruption (alternative motives of government officials), and will result in the overall failure of a nation. Just look at America now.
This all traces back to the failure of the founding fathers. Although their ideas seemed revolutionary and noble, they implemented it in a way with weak philosophical backing, inconsistencies, and loopholes, which caused it to become futile. For example, the founding fathers contradicted their own system when they introduced taxes, allowed slavery, and the list goes on, which immediately paved the way for the constitution to erode.
A new constitution with a similar, but more specific underlying philosophy must be set, but will only be effective if there the loopholes are sealed and it is properly implemented. Perhaps the only way this can happen is to educate American citizens, so that when America falls, people will understand the fundamental problem and solution.
2 comments:
The idea that "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (from the Declaration of Independence, NOT the Constitution) has been key to the success of democracies all over the world. The whole intent and purpose of it is to fight tyranny, so I don't see how you can so flippantly label democracy as tyranny.
As for taxation, I think it's very obviously something that is necessary for the running of the state and vital to its ability to protect the life, liberty and happiness of its citizens. If we didn't have taxes, what roads would we drive on? How high would school fees be if there were no tax-supported public schools? Complete freedom is not freedom at all, but just leads to chaos. There have to be rules put in place and some sort of organization otherwise everything collapses from natural entropy. That's the whole reason for the existence of government. Maybe instead of worrying so much about what freedoms you think are being taken from you, you should focus more on some positive, constructive things that you can do with that freedom. Otherwise, what's the point of arguing for more freedom when you don't even appreciate what you already have?
Despite many problems facing America today, it is still far from a failed nation. Have you ever been overseas to a third world country and seen the corruption of government officials, the poverty and disease that's due to war or lack of laws that promote equality amongst its denizens (not always considered citizens)? There are many better examples of failing states out there other than America. America may not be perfect, but it sure is a lot closer to it than the majority of the world is. As the saying goes, let's not throw out the baby with the bath water.
It doesn't make sense that you complain that constitutional values are not being respected, then you turn around and attack that very constitution. The constitution is declatory and formative in nature - the people have the "freedom" to interpret it and amend it as they see best fits the needs of their society. Don't complain that you're not free enough, then insist that the constitution was not specific enough to define the way the nation should be - it's contradictory to want stricter enforcement of founding principles if you don't want your liberty impeded upon. Or are you just saying that you want different liberties taken away than currently are? The beauty of the American democratic system is that you have absolutely all the freedom to fight for that if that's really what you want.
Although they're both important documents in America's founding, be careful about mixing up the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence, and be especially careful about using ideas from one document as evidence in your criticism against the OTHER document. It just doesn't reflect well on your credibility as an intellectual if you get simple facts like that screwed up (of course we all make mistakes, but let's at least show we did our best to achieve accuracy). Please understand that I'm not trying to attack you at all, but I encourage you to think through the full implications of your ideas a little more so you don't embarrass yourself as a public intellectual. I too believe very firmly in the principles of life and liberty, but surely if they're so important, we ought to do our best at getting our facts straight and educating ourselves, as you suggest, so that we can truly make this country and this world a much better place than it is.
This quote by Edmund Burke seems very relevant to this topic: "But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint." All of us could use a little more wisdom when discussing a matters of such magnitude as liberty and freedom.
see this post. http://wtpoftheusa.blogspot.com/2010/03/for-what-its-worth.html
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