11-06-2008, 07:39 PM
Hi,
I think you need to understand something which I call the Fundamental American Fable (FAF for short). In theory, the United States of America are fifty independent sovereign countries united in a federation. When you think USA, think EU. When you think Germany, France, Italy, etc., then think California, New York, etc. That was the concept under which the USA was formed under the Articles of Confederation.
It soon became apparent that the Federation was too weak, so the Constitution was adopted, strengthening the federal government. However the FAF was still strong, and when the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution, the tenth amendment allocated everything not specifically covered in the Constitution to the individual states. Some seventy years later, by the outbreak of the American Civil War, through interpretations of the Constitution in favor of a stronger central government, the FAF became more and more of a fairy tale. The final straw was the Civil War.
A number of issues divided the industrial North from the agrarian South. By 1861, the dominance of the North in the federal government, and the continuing increase of power of the federal government, drove a number of southern states to attempt to secede from the USA. If the FAF were not by then completely mythical, those states would have been permitted to do so (imagine a country being prohibited from resigning from the EU or UN). However, the reality was that by then, the States had become states and the union looked at the situation not as that of sovereign countries exercising their right but as provinces rebelling. By 1865 the results were in. Might made right and the states were meaningless.
However, reality takes a long time to replace mythology. So 143 years after the last nail was driven into the coffin of the FAF, we still have the trappings of the original concept. A Senate that no longer represents the state but has become an unfairly appropriated second house of representatives. The vermiform appendix of an Electoral College. And a hodgepodge of minor legal differences throughout the land.
Considering that the vast majority of citizens in the USA do not understand all this, I am not surprised that an European does not. However, if you want to intelligently discuss American politics and actions, it would be helpful if you at least had some knowledge of the American character.
Personally, I think drinking ages are stupid and counterproductive. Precisely by establishing a drinking age, the state makes drinking a symbol of maturity. This contributes greatly to the allure of getting drunk to prove something. But that's another issue entirely.
--Pete
Quote:So, by US law convicted felons are not allowed to vote, but they can be a candidate in political elections?Who can vote is determined by the states. Who can be in congress is determined by the federal government.
I think you need to understand something which I call the Fundamental American Fable (FAF for short). In theory, the United States of America are fifty independent sovereign countries united in a federation. When you think USA, think EU. When you think Germany, France, Italy, etc., then think California, New York, etc. That was the concept under which the USA was formed under the Articles of Confederation.
It soon became apparent that the Federation was too weak, so the Constitution was adopted, strengthening the federal government. However the FAF was still strong, and when the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution, the tenth amendment allocated everything not specifically covered in the Constitution to the individual states. Some seventy years later, by the outbreak of the American Civil War, through interpretations of the Constitution in favor of a stronger central government, the FAF became more and more of a fairy tale. The final straw was the Civil War.
A number of issues divided the industrial North from the agrarian South. By 1861, the dominance of the North in the federal government, and the continuing increase of power of the federal government, drove a number of southern states to attempt to secede from the USA. If the FAF were not by then completely mythical, those states would have been permitted to do so (imagine a country being prohibited from resigning from the EU or UN). However, the reality was that by then, the States had become states and the union looked at the situation not as that of sovereign countries exercising their right but as provinces rebelling. By 1865 the results were in. Might made right and the states were meaningless.
However, reality takes a long time to replace mythology. So 143 years after the last nail was driven into the coffin of the FAF, we still have the trappings of the original concept. A Senate that no longer represents the state but has become an unfairly appropriated second house of representatives. The vermiform appendix of an Electoral College. And a hodgepodge of minor legal differences throughout the land.
Considering that the vast majority of citizens in the USA do not understand all this, I am not surprised that an European does not. However, if you want to intelligently discuss American politics and actions, it would be helpful if you at least had some knowledge of the American character.
Quote:That's just as strange as not allowing 19-year-olds to handle liquor, when they are given a gun and sent away to fight a war :blink:During the Vietnam era many made this argument. As a result, the voting age was reduced to 18 by the 26th Amendment. Many states followed suit, reducing the drinking age, the age of majority, etc, to 18. Most of those states have since increased the drinking age again.
Personally, I think drinking ages are stupid and counterproductive. Precisely by establishing a drinking age, the state makes drinking a symbol of maturity. This contributes greatly to the allure of getting drunk to prove something. But that's another issue entirely.
Quote:I think you are way too anti-American there :whistling:"Corrupt government" is almost one word. I was not comparing the USA to the rest of the world. I was only pointing out that the present is not that different from the past.
According to this list, the USA ranks 17, which is at the same level as most west-European nations. Netherlands is at 12, which is worse as before. Our 'NATO friend' Georgia is at 134, way above India at 89, which was traditionally regarded as example for corrupt government officials.
Quote:Why the link to this Tammany Society? I had never heard of them, but the Wiki article doesn't seem to regard them as a highly corrupted organisation. It does look as if they didn't deserve much respect, but that was propably true for many organisations in that time."In that time" being the end of the eighteenth, all of the nineteenth, and the first part of the twentieth centuries? And Tammany just because it is probably the best known and longest lasting of the political power bases in the USA. The Wiki article is pretty easy on them, but my additional knowledge is based on books read forty or more years ago, so I cannot reference it.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?