Goldman brings up an interesting point about how the founders of the United States were spirited individuals with minds to create change. “If not for the spirit of rebellion, of the defiance on the part of the American revolutionary fathers, their posterity would still wear the King’s coat.” I wonder what the founding fathers of the United States would say about the way American citizens have allowed the Bush administration to engage in a war that is not widely supported by its citizens. Sometimes I think that if the founders were here today they would be appalled by how much authority the American people have given to their government. I think if they were here, they might be inspired to rebel against the current political institutions in the United States in an attempt to create a government where, once again, the goal would be to serve and protect it’s citizens instead of exploiting them as pawns to make corporations vast amounts of profit.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
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The political climate in America today is so complicated that I think the question of what the founding fathers would say is unanswerable. The spirit of the American Revolution demanded freedom from the constraints of the British government, including such abuses of power as taxation without representation and the series of oppressive Intolerable Acts.
There are some similarities of circumstance between our situation and theirs: namely, some of the founding fathers objected to paying taxes to the British on wars against the French and Indians in which the colonists had no say. Of course, that sounds familiar to anyone who knows what's going on today.
But look at the differences: the earliest American settlers were not represented in government at all, while we have state representatives; and furthermore, we pay taxes to a government that shares the land with us, not an overseas empire.
The founding fathers might not agree with the Iraq war, but who's to say that they would object to the process that's led up to it? Some of them might take issue with Bush's possible dishonesty (or "miscommunication") with the American people, but that issue is altogether different from what they dealt with in their time. I think they would all have their own opinions; it is illogical to assume that they'd unanimously judge the present situation in any particular manner, since it requires more careful analysis than simply, "The government is oppressing us, so let's revolt!"
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