Patters

I've said what he's saying many times before, but boy he puts it eloquently:

George Washington Was Not A King, So Stop Treating Him Like One

"Some men look at Constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, and deem them like the ark of the Covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human, and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment… laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind… as that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, institutions must advance also, to keep pace with the times… We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain forever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

-- Thomas Jefferson, on reform of the Virginia Constitution

That's the problem with today's most conservative Supreme Court Justices: They ignore the intent of our founders and prefer 'sanctimonious reverence.'

Triumph

Food stamps, welfare, unemployment benefits without looking for a job, free healthcare, free citizenship for illegal aliens, bigger government, more government control over our lives.

Change you can believe in.

PatsFanInVa

Nice find, Patters. However, I fear our age is locked into reverence rather than the founders' intent.

DocHoliday

Copy that from your republican thinking manual?

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PatsWSB47

I agree to a point. I think Triumph's "thinking manual" excerpt isn't entirely wrong. Without some fairly strict reverence to the constitution we could be subject to every whim that comes around. Change maybe slower than we like sometimes but at the same time every change isn't going to be good.

Hamar

The problem is not so much with amending the constitution, the real problem is trusting the politicians in power at the time to change it for the good of America and not just for the good (more money/power) of themselves.

Triumph

Obamas 1st four years.

DarrylS

They were so bad, he got re-elected quite easily..

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

Real World

George Bush got reelected too.

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Real World

I think you should focus on the words written after Jefferson's name.

"on reform of the Virginia Constitution"

For starters, Jefferson was a firm believer in the limited powers of the federal government if I'm not mistaken. He believed in state and local rights. What's good for Virginians, might not be good for those who live in Taxachusetts, and vice versa. Aside from that, is what most of the founders, including Jefferson, believed was the duty of "government" (federal vs state vs local), and what clearly was not. Since we're quoting...

I'd say $3.7 trillion worth of federal government, qualifies as both bad, and too much government.

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

Thomas Jefferson


2nd Amendment anyone?

When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Thomas Jefferson


To Triumphs post.

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

Thomas Jefferson


Yes please.

Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.

Thomas Jefferson


Not a federal army, nor for hunting. Please take note, and consider the actions that led to our own independence from oppressive government.

The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed.

For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.

No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms.

Thomas Jefferson



There are so many I could post for all kinds of reasons, but I'll leave you with this one, with our current fiscal situation in mind.

Never spend your money before you have earned it.

Thomas Jefferson

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897