Ancient Democracies and Laws, U.S. Constitution, American
Exceptionalism
“It appears, Curmudge, that our next topic will be
Curmudgeonocracy, whatever that is.
I presume that it has something to do with democracy and that we are
going to build it, brick by brick, as we read and write.”
“Correct as usual, Julie. I have been reading about the history of democracies and the
documents they adopted to govern interactions between people and between the
people and their leaders. Ancient
Greece, especially Athens, had one of the first democracies around 500
B.C. It was a direct democracy in which all citizens voted on laws. That contrasts with a representative democracy in which
citizens elect representatives, who make the laws.”
“Speaking of old things, Old Guy, there were the Code of
Hammurabi in 1772 B.C. for the Babylonians and the Ten Commandments given to
Moses in the 1600 – 1300 B.C. ballpark to govern the behavior of the
Israelites. And for the most part,
they are still pertinent.”
“And often ignored, chère
étudiante. Commandments such
as ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’ (lying and propaganda) and ‘Thou shalt
not covet’ (redistribution of wealth).
Systems of law have continued to evolve, including Roman Law, Sharia
(Shari’ah) Law, common law, and civil law. The thing I‘ve noticed about most of these laws is that they
govern legal issues between the people but don’t seem to place limitations on
their leaders.”
“Maybe that’s because, except for ancient Greece, these
older civilizations weren’t democracies.
Leaders commanded strong armies (Alexander the Great 356-323 B.C.,
Genghis Khan 1162-1227 A.D.), or had tribal or religious authority (Moses), or
royal parents (various monarchies), or a commanding presence, a line of
propaganda, and powerful supporters (various dictatorships and
oligarchies). Hey, Curmudge, the
dictatorships and oligarchies bring us right up to the present time.”
“Before we talk about current issues, Julie, let’s mention
instances in the past when limitations were imposed on the powers of
leaders. The classical example is
the Magna Carta,
signed in 1215. Here is a summary:
‘Abuses by King John caused a revolt
by nobles who compelled him to execute this recognition of rights for both
noblemen and ordinary Englishmen. It established the principle that no one,
including the king or a lawmaker, is above the law.’ “
“That’s good stuff,
Old Guy. Do you suppose that we
might get all the despots and wannabes in the world to sign a similar
document?”
“Not even in this
country, Julie. But I appreciate
your dream. The closest thing we
have in the U.S. is the oath of office taken by the President on down to
military recruits promising to ‘preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution
of the United States.’ ”
“So now, Professor,
are we ready to discuss the U.S. Constitution?”
“That’s too big a
topic for a blog posting. However
we should mention the concept of separation
of powers into the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of
government. For the serious
student, there is Constitution
101, a free online course offered by Hillsdale College. It includes the U.S. Constitution
Reader, a reading list of over 100 primary source documents. Among the documents are those read by
and written by the Founding Fathers prior to their writing the Constitution.”
“I perceive,
Curmudge, that you are a fan of the Constitution and most of its amendments as
written.”
“True, but if I had
been alive at the time, I would have been troubled by the 18th
Amendment (prohibition). Glad it
was repealed. A few years ago I
met a couple who introduced themselves as, ‘Hi. We’re John and Mary Jones. We’re dry.’ I
first thought they were thirsty, but I learned later that they were expressing
their feelings about alcohol consumption. Glad that I didn’t offer them a beer.”
“But there are
parts of the Constitution that seem to be under continuous attack, even
currently.”
“Right, Julie. Among them are Amendment I regarding
freedom of speech and Amendment X, ‘The powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
the States respectively, or to the people.’ Occasionally the courts have had to rein in the Executive
and Legislative branches to keep them from running roughshod over the
Constitution. I guess that makes
being a strict constructionist a part of Curmudgeonocracy.”
“Before we talk
about the 20th century, Curmudge, we should mention American exceptionalism. It seems to go hand-in-hand with strict
construction. The term was coined
by Alexis de Tocqueville, who came to America in 1831. ‘He was duly
impressed by our governmental structure, including the separation of powers,
but he was in awe of the public educational system, which rendered its
recipients completely literate by the completion of second grade. Early
settlers not only mastered reading, writing and arithmetic, but also shared
practical skills, all of which enabled them to traverse and tame a rugged and
frequently hostile terrain. As
isolated communities sprang up throughout the nation, they were able to thrive
through innovation, industry and compassion. The “can-do” attitude involved
hard labor, but it also included a sense of responsibility for those who
through injury or other hardships could no longer care for themselves.’ “
“Americans have continued to prove to be exceptional by their actions. The
early settlers who came from Europe were exceptional because they accepted the
challenges inherent in forging a new nation out of a wilderness. Others who chose to remain behind
‘missed the boat,’ but those who came later learned from those who were already
here. This was further
demonstrated 70 years ago, on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). And those who came involuntarily from Africa needed to
possess unique strength of body and spirit in order to survive the voyage.”
“In my opinion, Professor, our exceptionalism has endured
from generation to generation. But
it’s really unfortunate that some Americans simply won’t accept the
concept. So what’s next in our
search for Curmudgeonocracy?”
“Progressivism, socialism, the New Deal, the administrative
state, and more. Don’t go away,
Julie.”
Kaizen Curmudgeon
Link to posting from blog archives: AIDET Redux—7/01/10
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