• forrgott@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    One of their ideas I personally think would be amazing: allegedly, Thomas Jefferson predicted the Construction would only last less than twenty years before we would completely overhaul our core document of governance. I believe rebuilding the specific details every couple decades would’ve helped tremendously…

      • starman2112@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        ~Every single generation since the founding of this country

        I agree though. I can think of many times in history that a rewriting of the bill of rights would have excluded free speech. Imagine if the current supreme court had the authority to revoke the separation of church and state, and mandate that all public schools have a Protestant focus.

          • Neato@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            “Wisdom” like the 3/5ths compromise. They were writing it specifically because they were completely terrified of strong central governments and autocracy. They didn’t give one shit about anyone other than themselves and their rich compatriots. You used to have to be a landowner to vote. They had some good ideas but the fact a functional system of government came out of them that has any usage in the modern day is more of a happy accident than any real forethought.

            • starman2112@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              The 3/5ths compromise is an interesting and often misunderstood one. Slave owning states wanted their slaves counted in the state’s population, because more people means more representation in the House of Representatives, and more electoral college votes. Since slaves didn’t have any say in politics, this solely benefited the people who owned them. Free states didn’t want slaves counted towards the census for that exact reason, and the 3/5ths compromise came out of that disagreement. It was never about how much of a person slaves are, and the bad guys got their way by exploiting their slaves for even more political power.

            • MxM111@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              I will take accidentally being right (and tested over time) over thoughtfully being wrong.

                • MxM111@kbin.social
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                  1 year ago

                  Well, it’s not like they randomly spewed the words in foundational documents. They did think it through. Luck was about historical conditions that they were in, so that they could make these conclusions.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        One party is seeking a constitutional convention. In order to install a permanent Republican dictatorship.

        • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          That’s a pipe dream. Laws have weight because the constitution says they do, but the constitution only matters because it’s pretty much universally agreed upon. No constitution the Republicans would write will gain that kind of acceptance, or even the acceptance of a majority.

      • forrgott@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        It pains me to admit I see your point. If we had developed some mechanism early on where problematic passages or even sections could be democratically identified, as well as a system to propose possible changes for vote…but now? Yikes.

        Somehow, I want to believe it is possible to revolutionize our government, but without the usual bloodshed. I just wish I had any clue how… :p