Following a well-written article by Shawn, I thought it might be nice to commnet on the problems of procedure facing the gay rights movement.
As a country that has come a long way from Independence Hall 1776, the United States has been founded on a set of laws to govern the processes and law-making in this country. While by no means perfect, the Constitution offers the United States the stability and consistency it needs if it is to long survive as a Democratic Republic (which is unfortunately leaning a little too much towards Democracy, despite the Constitution).
In the Constitution, Americans are afforded the guarantee of a Democratic form of government. Unfortunately, gay rights activists haven't been that concerned about the state of Democracy. Through the abuse of the court system, gay activism has made gains in states such as Massachusetts, where courts determined that "gay marriage" was a "right". This isn't about if "gay marriage" is a "right" or not. I merely want to suggest... that we need to be a nation of laws and procedures.
The thing that keeps a Democracy alive, is an adherance to the legal system, for the sake of "fairness" to all parties, regardless of their politics. We need to be sticklers against any abuse of the system, regardless if the short-term result is in our favor. Court decisions that create laws ought to be avoided, even if we agree with the law being created. Law creation must remain solely in the hands of the Legislative Branch. Similarly, we must recognize that the "right to declare war" and the "granting permission to make war" are different things, and the Congress ought not shirk its responsibility when it comes to war as it did with the current situation in Iraq.
If anything, we need to stop being pragmatists. This country lives and breathes based on consistency and due process. Any loss of due process, even if the short-term results are positive, the long-term losses of consistency makes any gain by abusing the political systems of the United States far less important than the potential downfall.
We must remain a country of laws, or we will die a country without them.
Eric Drzewiecki is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. He has a bachelor's degree in Political Science, as well as Public Administration. He can be reached at eric_drz@hotmail.com
As a country that has come a long way from Independence Hall 1776, the United States has been founded on a set of laws to govern the processes and law-making in this country. While by no means perfect, the Constitution offers the United States the stability and consistency it needs if it is to long survive as a Democratic Republic (which is unfortunately leaning a little too much towards Democracy, despite the Constitution).
In the Constitution, Americans are afforded the guarantee of a Democratic form of government. Unfortunately, gay rights activists haven't been that concerned about the state of Democracy. Through the abuse of the court system, gay activism has made gains in states such as Massachusetts, where courts determined that "gay marriage" was a "right". This isn't about if "gay marriage" is a "right" or not. I merely want to suggest... that we need to be a nation of laws and procedures.
The thing that keeps a Democracy alive, is an adherance to the legal system, for the sake of "fairness" to all parties, regardless of their politics. We need to be sticklers against any abuse of the system, regardless if the short-term result is in our favor. Court decisions that create laws ought to be avoided, even if we agree with the law being created. Law creation must remain solely in the hands of the Legislative Branch. Similarly, we must recognize that the "right to declare war" and the "granting permission to make war" are different things, and the Congress ought not shirk its responsibility when it comes to war as it did with the current situation in Iraq.
If anything, we need to stop being pragmatists. This country lives and breathes based on consistency and due process. Any loss of due process, even if the short-term results are positive, the long-term losses of consistency makes any gain by abusing the political systems of the United States far less important than the potential downfall.
We must remain a country of laws, or we will die a country without them.
Eric Drzewiecki is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. He has a bachelor's degree in Political Science, as well as Public Administration. He can be reached at eric_drz@hotmail.com
2 Comments:
Yes, it was very well written, wasn't it? ...
I agree and would rather have a loss in the book rather than a win that cracks away at the solid base that is the constitution. By allowing it to be decayed, much worse things may happen down the road. Rights that seem so sure now can be harassed if we allow that sort of thing to happen.
Good read.
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