I learned a lot about the difference between progressive and Tea Party beliefs in 2012 when I attended a small political gathering in the Grand Rapids area for a state representative candidate.
After lengthy debate and discussion with these patriots, I came to understand the crucial difference between them and me was:
Tea Partiers seem to believe that the U.S, Constitution was a lot like the Bible, divinely inspired by godly men and inerrant, magically constructed at one brief time to stand for all time. Today, many of these people refer to themselves as “originalists.”
By contrast, I view the Founding Fathers as brilliant, ahead of their time thinkers willing to try an experiment in government, creating a system guided by the consent of the governed. However, I’ve spent a lifetime understanding that they were flawed men.
The first clue is that many of them in 1789 were owners of slaves, including such superstars as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. So when Jefferson said, “All men are created equal,” he wasn’t talking about blacks, Native Americans or women.
Furthermore, if the Constitution was such a perfect document, why did it have to be amended 10 times immediately in order to be adopted? Many more amendments, 17 in all, have been added to this ground-breaking governmental blueprint since then.
So the sacred Bill of Rights actually applied only to free, white male landowners at least 21 years of age. And it was only through later amendments that corrections were made.
So my view basically is that very bright, good men in 1789 came up with a radical document, to this day the oldest of its kind, but it wasn’t perfect. It needed revisions to keep up with changing times and conditions. I do not regard the Constitution in the same way many religious folks view the Bible, which serves as a guide, a blueprint for behavior and philosophy for certain people.
In fact, it should be noted, that the word “God” does not appear even once in the Constitution, despite what so many misguided people assert. Furthermore, the document clearly insists there shall be no religious test for anyone who wishes to serve as a public official.
The Founding Fathers did not wish to establish religion over government because many of them didn’t want to fall prey to the bad examples of state religion in Europe, from which we broke away..
The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights stand as important and essential documents because they have been improved and adapted to changing conditions over many years rather than serve as a narrow stern directive for all time.
So what this means is that a progressive such as myself continues to press for changes and improvements while conservatives assert things remain the same and not be changed, and sometimes even rolled back. They seem to be saying, with feeling, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
I answer with Frank Zappa’s quote, “Without deviation, there is no progress.”
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