When I was in my early twenties, we were all reading Atlas Shrugged; so much so that it became almost a dutiful expectation that you would read it and read it again. Since then we have all gone our several ways, and the larger part of us turned Liberal and are now deeply embedded in the struggle to keep the swamp alive and viable. It's disappointing, and proof positive that reading Ayn Rand, in and of itself, is no guarantee that young minds can and will be molded in a positive manner. In leaving NY, I also had to leave the friends of my youth. But, in truth, we really have very little left in common.
There is no single path that will acceptably deal with the irrationality we face as a nation. Changing, deleting, revising, whatever, the visible irritants will not cure the cause; because as much as we promote, and yes, worship, the Constitution, the problems we face were enabled under its protections. The malaise goes deeper than Constitutions.
How do we fix it? I can't speak for all, but I think it's maybe time talk about what we don't do to fix it.
Human nature is mainly a manifestation of simian dominance games. The human part of our makeup will always find a way around any obstacle, including Constitutions and laws. There exist in our society many social collectives which strive to bend those laws and that Constitution to do things the Founders never intended, and would never tolerate. The Constitution is not the problem, but its very emphasis on freedom enables those who detest freedom to actively, openly labor for its destruction.
If, and that's a big if, movements arise and move to action, they will not be operating in a vacuum. Strife plows the ground, and makes it easier for seeds to germinate and grow, and not just one species of seed, or just 'good' seeds. If you think things are interesting now, that time, if/when it comes, will exceed our understanding of the term. So tread lightly, and think, at length, about how one might proceed to action.
One thing is clear to me. Our Constitution has served us for centuries, and it has brought us to this current conclusion. Nothing is perfect and we've been pretty fortunate up to here. But from here on, we have more to do than simply restore the intent of the Founders; because like every other work of man, this one also has flaws. We are witnessing them daily, and in some part, our own loyalty to the Constitution is the very rope that ties our hands against doing what we have come to believe is the right thing.
We have to do better than the founders did, and those who come after us will also have to do better than we do. Societies are like that. The people have been crying for change, and the unscrupulous among us have co-opted that cry and bent it to serve their own festering power. We still need the change, and those unscrupulous, we call them Swamp Dwellers, will do all in their power to defeat any such efforts.
Shall we begin...?
Greg
