No Mr. Nice Guy in Politics

Politics is not a very nice game. It never really has been, and probably never will be. Politicians will continue to lambast their opponents with hyperbole and accusations.

Even during the days of a more intellectual politics at America's founding, one can find some pretty biting rebukes. In the debates between the proponents of our new constitution (Federalists) and its opponents (Anti-federalists), there seems to be much shaming on both sides. 

One of the most prevalent examples of this is Anti-Federalist Paper No. 9. Written as a satire from the perspective of a proponent to the constitution, this paper details that the "author" desires the people to have a limited voice in the government, so the better suited elite can have complete control of the government. 

This agenda is allegedly evidenced throughout the entirety of the Constitution, where the republic vests power as far away from the people as possible. 

It is an argument that one would expect from an Anti-Federalist that ultimately, the Constitution would provide power less for the people, but it is totally uncalled for to accuse the Federalists of intentionally trying to essentially leave the entire population out of the process because they think they are more qualified than the public at large. 

Yet that is what Anti-Federalist Paper No. 9 directly does. It's not a very nice argument to say the least. 

My simple point is today, don't anticipate or expect that the world of politics is going to change. There will not be a sudden revival or change that produces a completely different atmosphere in this nation. Since its very beginning, our nation has been dealing with this problem, and I honestly don't think it is the Lord's will to stop the problem before He comes. Level your expectations accordingly then, as we head into midterms this November. 

Who Exactly are the Founders?

What do you think of when you hear the term, "Founding fathers?" If you're like most of America, you think of the people who crafted and formed the Constitution of the United States. Obviously this is a true statement. The founding fathers as we know them today were individuals who founded this nation conceived in liberty.

It is nonsensical for us to think they all had the same ideas about what that type of a nation would look like. Nonetheless, all throughout America, we discuss and debate about what the founders thought, as if they somehow had all the same belief about every political topic.

While the founders were sure to agree on some areas, we truly know that they still disagreed from time to time. The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, for instance, are articles and papers both written by founding fathers from opposing points of view about what our government should be. Weak central government vs. slightly stronger one. Articles of Confederation vs. The Constitution.

We have records of debates between our founding fathers on areas such as these. The founders are not some nebulous entity that mysteriously agrees on every area of topic. They are a group of people crafting our nation with their different views, compromising when need be to create a workable government. We should do well to remember that when we discuss the founders beliefs on government, we are talking about many, not a uniform belief.