"But again, maybe there is something inherently wrong with the system of government set up by our forefathers over 200 years ago? Maybe we need more checks and balances? Maybe there should be no one single head of government (POTUS). It may have worked at one time for a nation of few, but for a nation of 400 million? Maybe there is a better way of government of the people, for the people and by the people?"
I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with our system of government. It beats all others that have EVER been tried throughout history. I think we, as a populace, have allowed it to go unchecked for years and are paying the price for that today. It takes a strong, independent and engaged populace to stop the injustices and stupidity of those we have elected to represent us. We have become complacent, apathetic and have generally ignored what goes on in Washington for decades. We have given up our freedom for the "security" of a benevolent (or so we think) federal government. We want easy. We want simple. We want convenience. We want instant gratification. We think we deserve it all because we are America. Never mind working. Never mind sacrificing. Never mind accountability. Never mind responsibility. Those are words that we no longer use and appreciate. We covet. We covet everything and we expect it to be granted. And granted for no other reason than it should be. So, we have become self-centered and forgotten that we have piece of the pie in the equation of "...government of the people, by the people and for the people." We have a responsibility to stay vigilant and stay on top of those who represent us. We have failed mightily in that regard. Unfortunately, we have turned from a representative republic to a democracy, which is nothing more than mob rule.
While it may appear that we have one, single head of government, in reality we SHOULD have a working triumverate of government; executive, judicial and legislative branches as defined by the Constitution. Again, we have allowed the three to run amock and all are now singular and NOT working together to complete thier assigned duties according to the Constitution.
The Constitution has checks and balances written into it...and written into it very well. We have ignored them and allowed politicians to effectively ride rough shod on the Constitution. We have either a rule of law or we have rule of man. We don't get it both ways...but we want it both ways.
I go back to the Constitution a lot. It is NOT a living document. It has objective meaning in all of its glory. If there is no objective meaning behind it then why do we even have a Constitution? It spells out the LIMITS placed on government, not what government should do. Our founders knew this because they new man and his imperfections. Throughout history there are numerous examples of man trying to rule over man. The founders knew that given his vices, man will always try and rule over other men. What they created was a means to disallow that to happen. It worked for many , many years. Now, it isn't working because "government...by the people" has checked out of our responsibilities to do just that.
The question I ask: "Is it fixable?" Sadly, I am of the opinion that the ship is listing too far to one side and that we will not be able to right her and continue down the path of our republic...at least during my lifetime. That is unfortunate for our kids. They will have the pain of growing up in a newly and quickly growing socialist/facist country. That saddens me to no end.
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