“EDUCATION IS WHAT REMAINS AFTER ONE HAS
FORGOTTEN WHAT ONE HAS LEARNED IN SCHOOL.”
Albert Einstein
A very good friend has asked for a long time for me to put together some things that are believed to be how this country was set up and how the rules have been changed and taught to be fact. I have done part of this in bits and pieces and this will take some thought on the readers part if it is accepted. This is mostly because they have been taught things in school and in the everyday course of media and partisanship. Also by the impulse by humans to change the facts to suit their beliefs.
There has been a lot of shouting, screaming, and just plain obnoxious behavior and the facts get lost in the narrative that those who take advantage of the natural laziness of people to accept what they want and not check on the truths behind the statements. In this day of electronic media and social media The truth gets lost. Also if someone tries to explain and set the record straight they are immediately vilified, verbally attacked, called any number of hateful names, and in some cases losing their jobs, family, friends, and reputation for taking the politically incorrect view.
Nobody ever won an argument by name calling or by hatred. When attacked in any form the reaction is always defensive. When on the defense there is no time for listening and good will. So I go about this explanation as best I can.
George Washington was against the country being divided by political parties. He saw the fragile system of government as strongest when everyone worked together despite their differences. It was inevitable that the country ended up being divided as the personal interests found power in banding together against other groups.
The Democrat Party was not founded until Andrew Jackson and the Republican Party rose to replace the Whigs. So there were not the two major parties at the beginning of the Republic.
Notice the word ‘Republic’. The word Democracy was not coined until many years after the founding of our country. The United States is a Representative Republic and is based on a Constitution that is to protect the citizens from the government and limit it’s power.
Democracy is majority rule which translates to mob rule. This was best displayed by the French Revolution where those who lost were beheaded with the guillotine or imprisoned. Our founders recognized that pure mob rule would not last the test of time. A Republic that is governed by a set of rights or Constitution along with the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers have been the foundation that has enabled our country to last 240 years.
As governments go the United States is at the far edge of what has been the limit that most governments ever last without revolution. The foresight of our founders was truly amazing because they saw the rise of the Progressive and the rise of both Socialism and Communism long before they appeared in the history of the world. This is truly amazing in light of the fact that we live in a world today that was science fiction a few decades ago.
The system of checks and balances that is our three branch government has been a work in progress this whole time. And when things were wrong with it there was the flexibility for change. The unofficial watchdog of the government was the news media. Though no human is totally unbiased there were standards for reporting the news and not becoming the news. Today the media has become the defacto fourth branch of government seeking to influence according to their values.
The belief that our founders had was to have an educated population. That legislators and office holders were to be from the citizenry and when completing their obligation go home and back to their job. Professional politicians were not supposed to be something to aim a life’s work for. For the first half of our country the House of Representatives was voted by the people and the Senate was appointed by the state legislators. This seemed to change with the rise of professional politicians.
Justice was to be done by a jury of your peers and based on the Constitution not by case law which is how the courts are now. We have gone from a system of justice to a system of laws. Now the law only works if you can afford a better lawyer and if you can get evidence disallowed or hidden. A legal case that is determined by those influenced by the climate or opinions of the day and not presented to a grand jury is ripe for misuse and malfeasance.
The founders declared that this country was conceived and allowed to exist by the grace of God. Our laws are based on the Ten Commandments and British Common Law. To deviate from this invites the destruction of a system that has been paid for in blood in every generation.
Honest debate is good for us but shouting at each other is destructive. Goodwill has always been the better lot of our people. We have differences but we also have basic principles. To deviate from these is the assurance that we will lose our freedoms and be subject to the fate of other nations who lost their way.
Much is spoken about the electoral college and the reason it exists and it is to protect the election of ballot castors in a way that one specialized group of people do not lord over others who are scattered and have varied interests. Without the electoral college there would be five states elect the president and the vote of all other states would mean nothing. Some states split their electors with the voting results in house districts. This is a function of the state. What would the anger of the people in Kansas be when all that is required to be elected is California? No matter how you feel about the electoral college it was designed by some pretty smart people.
Of course you would know all this if it had been taught in your Government class in high school. It also should have been taught in your American History Class. And for all of those ‘educated’ people who look down on those without college degrees, next time your car breaks down fix it your self. Or your plumbing, electrical, etc. A sheepskin on a wall does not transfer knowledge, a curious mind and an open mind does.
