Subject:
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Re: "Centuries old piece of paper" still pretty darn good
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 12 Oct 2001 18:33:50 GMT
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Viewed:
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208 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, James Simpson writes:
> > Read it.
>
> I'm glad that you spoke to Scott's comments. As soon as I read them yesterday,
> I tried to draft a reply that wasn't full of anger, but realized that I couldn't
> at the time, so I dropped it.
>
> I suppose that the jist of my reply to his comments is that his liberty as a
> free Scot and our liberty as free Americans is not resting on a foundation that
> any of us ourselves have fully laid.
Excellent point. Without wanting to appear like I am cavilling I wish
people would stand back and think about how they would think had they not
been so fortunate to be born in their native land. I see a hint of
arrogance in Larry's assertion that the U.S. is the *best* country in the
world and though I heartily agree with him in everything else he said
(though Scott had a good point about last year's election in response to his
claim that our system is less representative) I am slightly uneasy about the
'best' part.
> Without the historical and systematic
> obedience and respect for the continuity of recognized precedent in matters of
> law, civics, and government, the legal framework that Scott regards as superior
> would not in fact exist; Scott, and myself, and all of us can in fact live today
> with confidence in our legal systems' respect for our individual liberties
> because the corpus of precedents, legislations and decisions that shape the
> protection of our fundamental liberties have not been subject to the whim of how
> "we live today," but are instead shaped and tempered by the great continuity of
> jurisprudence that in turn rests upon (and is tempered itself) by the explicit
> statement of principled government --in my case, the Constitution --by which all
> judgmenents owe obedience.
>
> The United States Constitution has proven its merit, and is still strong and
> alive after 200 years. The burden is upon any man who would scoff at it's
> authority. I find it ironic that Scott would dismiss this revered document so
> easily, because it's genesis is in part found within the Magna Carta, and its
> words are intertwined with the blood and history of the British.
I agree wholeheartedly with this and feel proud (despite what I said above
(see how hard it is not to do it!)) that the culture of which I am a part
produced it.
>
> I don't think the rest of the world understands our devotion to this document.
> America is great not because we are powerful but because we recognize the
> authority of principled government - embodied, but not contained, in our sacred
> document - and we dare live by it, fight, and die for it.
>
> james
If only we had the chance to start again here, but it simply is not
practical and politics is the art of the possible. However most of the
constitutional changes which have occurred here recently have served to
bring us closer to those ideals, proof that the thinking that produced the
U.S. Constitution did not leave these islands with those who wrote it.
Simon
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