Ron Of TN Loc: Middle Tenn

"Democracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man's life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the detestable cruelty of one or a very few."

--John Adams (A Defense of the American Constitutions, 1787) Reference: The Works of John Adams, C.F. Adams, ed., vol. 6 (8-9); The Founders Constitution

Remember, this nation was founded as a republic ruled by law, not by men!

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Nikon_Bill Loc: South Florida

I guess that's why in reality we are a republic.

Powder Hound

Democracy is a nice word for mob rule. It is too cumbersome to get anything done. In addition, it usually fails at the number one reason for having a government in the first place.

The Constitution is there in order to provide a real working solution to the number one reason to have a government, which is the protection of your and my inalienable rights. The republic, or democratic representative government, provides a way to get things done, and a buffer to hopefully keep emotion out of the process so that illogical passions are kept out of the process.

Cheers,

PH

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

To paraphrase Franklin, I believe, - "A republic if we can keep it!)

Cookie223 Loc: New Jersey

Our country is spiraling down and no longer what it used to be. Past immigrants embraced this country, it’s heritage, worked without government aid, and many proudly served ”Their” new country.
The decadence, disrespect from the new wave of citizens, especially non legal citizens is a disgrace. Our elected officials have lost touch with what made this country the best in the world, and forgot they work for us!
There are 3 types of people in our country, those that will fight for our freedoms, those that support them, and those that do nothing but cry, complain, and demand that we support them. Unfortunately the latter out number the first two.

God Bless America

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I love my country and hope it stops this hatred

Our problem is Elected Office is no gone to hell Politicians is now a profession. The are not elected to serve they are a profession and do it for a living and want to retire as a professional politician. Not a person the steps up to serve us.
I don't hate anyone that likes the other guy and I don't know who he likes. Live and let live.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Now this is an intelligent discussion on politics. Good ideas well expressed that appeal to logic and common sense. Why can't it be like this in general most of the time?

2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond

I have friends who are Russian immigrants and they are very uneasy over what they are seeing going on in this country with the idealistic blindness of the younger generations moving towards communism. This is what we get for not making modern history compulsory in our school system. We are supposed to learn from our mistakes, but we can't if we don't know what they are.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Thanks for the reminder!

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

For the most part what has been said in this political discussion is non-partisan. Charles Krautheimer said politics matters. It is the one thing that can directly affect our lives unlike Net Flix and football. I think we need to take personalities out of discussions like this and stick to philosophy like is being done now.

elee950021 Loc: New York, NY

The Founding Fathers never foresaw the rise of professional politicians! After a stint of government service, they were to go home. How about Term Limits?

Be well. Ed

Powder Hound

I don't think they do, but the media would have you believe they are pervasive. If it was really so, they would quickly vote themselves sufficient benefits to bankrupt the nation. The media in general are corrupt, and believe in collectivism. Too bad as they then betray the public they claim and pretend to serve.

Cheers,

PH

Bob Werre

My take on much of this is that in my neck of the woods (Upper Midwest) my grandparents did receive free land (called 3 quarters) to farm on. Also the local churches built some basic dug-in sod houses for the last bunch of immigrants to start out in. A couple of those homes, although no longer usable, were around into the 60's. So there was government support and church support. How you determine what you call that is what your attitude might be--is it a hand-out or a hand up? Since all the area was settled by displaced German's from Russia most were equal in wealth or lack of. So with a couple of exceptions nobody really had much so there was little reason to commit crime. To continue, the various railroads placed ads for the free/cheap (Indian) land with the idea that good crops meant boxcars of grain moving to market and Sears products moving back to the farm! Some areas did well until a few years of bad crops, then they left, packed up by the thousands. Later on in my hometown, during the depression again, hundreds moved West to Washington and California mostly. During this time, the government came in and bought cattle from the farmers, drove them into a pit and shot them in an effort to stabilize prices and lessen the demand on the poor hay crops and barren grazing land. So we had support via the government for the farmers and the young workers found a few dollars in the CCC. In today's world what kind of credit would you need to kick start a life from nothing, especially if you're not of the same heritage? So if your family is from India, Ethiopia or Sudan you better hope they have family money because there's no free land or a sod house to live in! To continue just a bit my Son worked for a Latino gentlemen who's family predated the state & country of Texas--his family lived on land grants from Mexico--yet he has problems with that heritage in the eyes of many here.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Government is to serve The Nation not the Individual. People's rights often conflict with other people's 'Rights'. There are no simple,clearly defined 'Rights'.

People seem to want to have their wishes enshrined by law. We end up with too many laws. Individuals also tend to pick and choose their own 'boundaries' within legislation. So that Laws become less effective and often contradictory.

We need less laws and less 'Individuals choices'. In that way it would be simpler for Government to Govern not pander to 'those that shout the loudest'.

Not that it will happen...

bonjac Loc: Santa Ynez, CA 93460

To be young is to be idealistic. It seems to me the young are really rebelling against an economic system does not serve it's populace. They see and experience the impact of income disparity, and recognize they will not be able to live a decent life because of excessive cost of education, healthcare, etc., so they look to gov't to fill the void. I don't see this as communism but rather as a look toward some degree of socialism to fill the gap created by income disparity. Much of our political unrest can be attributed to the current state of the economy and its structure. We need to restructure our form of capitalism to serve all of society rather than society serving capitalism. If left alone, capitalism can be brutal. It needs boundaries so that it better serves all of us. I think some of the unrest in the country would be allayed.