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I would suggest reading the Federalist Papers. #41 is my favorite.
I've read them all and the Anti-Federalist Papers as well, but thank you for the suggestion.
Personally I my favorite is #51:
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions."
I am so sorry that I missed this series of responses...
Quote:
Me:...then who protects your rights against the whim of public opinion?
You: Militias.
Well Mircea, in the nearly 250 year history, I have yet to see a militia appear in Federal Court, or one, protect African Americans (as one example) from the denial of their basic constitutional rights by state officials and law enforcement.
Where are those militias when you need them?
Quote:
Me: Does insurance cross state lines? How about water, air and pollution?
You: Interstate Commerce has nothing to do with "crossing State lines."
I've read them all and the Anti-Federalist Papers as well, but thank you for the suggestion.
Personally I my favorite is #51:
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions."
That's your favorite quote, and yet your posts on this forum clearly show that you support intrusive government with abusive power. Quite a contradiction.
That's your favorite quote, and yet your posts on this forum clearly show that you support intrusive government with abusive power. Quite a contradiction.
Not at all. Let's go over the quote once again;
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.
Where is the contradiction? Let me suggest that the problem lies not with me but rather with the extreme positions taken by those on C-D that in my opinion express the erroneous notion, contrary to Madison, that men are indeed angels and should thus be free of essentially all control by government. So I would suggest that in appearance of a contradiction lies in a fundamental disagreement over what constitutes intrusion and or the abuse of power.
Further, because far too often the opinions of those who I fundamentally disagree with are so historically and factually erroneous that I find myself having to spend more time setting the record straight that I have little time or energy to express how I think that it should be. Now if by some miracle an opportunity to have a discussion where a complex and nuanced discussions were possible, you might come to understand what is and what isn't a contradictory view point regarding my opinions or views.
But thanks for asking.
PS - case in point. The quote from Madison is my favorite quote from the Federalist Papers, not my favorite quote.
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