A CNN poll two days ago found that a majority of Americans thought this year's congress was the worst congress ever. Maybe they're right. But there were a few readers' comments along the lines of "what do you expect?" quoting Jeffersonian adages like "government is best which governs least".
I'm always a bit concerned when people quote Jefferson on limiting government. Even if Jefferson didn't exactly say this, several of the US Founding Fathers had similar views and it may be good to remember that Madison, Franklin and Jefferson were influenced by the example of the relatively small Iroquois, Delaware or Cherokee Nations who seemed to survive well with few formal rules but whose members had a concern for the welfare of the tribe. The Indian Nations might not have needed so much government because their individual members had a high degree of altruism.
I don't deny that American liberty has enabled spectacular (and often beneficial) achievement by untrammelled individuals. And the 'don't tread on me'/'how high is up?' attitudes are part of the reason I'm here. But mightn't it be possible that Jefferson was a despot down there on his plantation at Monticello; that his slaves chafed under his government? A person needs to be careful spouting Jefferson's views on government. Support for government has a lot to do with whom it serves.
And this congress may not have served many but in a country of 300 million people all with competing desires and needs, should you try to go without it or expect it to do better?
I'm always a bit concerned when people quote Jefferson on limiting government. Even if Jefferson didn't exactly say this, several of the US Founding Fathers had similar views and it may be good to remember that Madison, Franklin and Jefferson were influenced by the example of the relatively small Iroquois, Delaware or Cherokee Nations who seemed to survive well with few formal rules but whose members had a concern for the welfare of the tribe. The Indian Nations might not have needed so much government because their individual members had a high degree of altruism.
I don't deny that American liberty has enabled spectacular (and often beneficial) achievement by untrammelled individuals. And the 'don't tread on me'/'how high is up?' attitudes are part of the reason I'm here. But mightn't it be possible that Jefferson was a despot down there on his plantation at Monticello; that his slaves chafed under his government? A person needs to be careful spouting Jefferson's views on government. Support for government has a lot to do with whom it serves.
And this congress may not have served many but in a country of 300 million people all with competing desires and needs, should you try to go without it or expect it to do better?
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