tp169.xml
Title
tp169.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-03-03
TomPaine Story: Story
""Toward A More Perfect Union: Lessons Learned--Or Not--Since September 11""
Before September 11, 2001, ""conservatives,"" ""Republicans,"" and ""libertarians"" said government was the enemy and that government programs to help people was the first step toward Stalinism. Suddenly, after the horrific events of that day, many of these people called for federal government action and subordinating individual rights to ""national interests.""
As we approach September 11, 2002, we should discard sophomoric arguments over ""limited"" or ""expansive"" government. For as Founder James Madison admitted in Federalist Paper #37, the Founders chose broad words to reflect the compromises of the Founders themselves and that experience, not theory, is the best definer of our Constitution's meaning.
For those who insist that the federal government must be strictly limited, consider:
Alexander Hamilton, in 1791, said: ""(T)he general administration of the affairs of a country...ought to be construed liberally in advancement of the public good"" and that legislatures ""must of necessity (exercise) great latitude of discretion...""
James Madison, in Federalist Paper #10, wrote that the ""regulation"" of ""a landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a moneyed interest, with many lesser interests...forms the principal task of modern legislation...""
The Supreme Court, in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), unanimously stated: The Constitution is ""intended to endure for ages to come...and to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs. To have prescribed the means by which government should, in all future time, execute its powers...would have been...unwise...""
Am I arguing for a vision that only reflects the views of Hubert Humphrey and Ralph Nader? No--and that's the point. The Founders gave us the Constitution to debate the merits of public policy proposals, not place them outside the bounds of our discourse. Whether it is Medicare for all Americans or federal airport security, we must debate policy merits, not ivory tower theories of government.
Before September 11, 2001, ""conservatives,"" ""Republicans,"" and ""libertarians"" said government was the enemy and that government programs to help people was the first step toward Stalinism. Suddenly, after the horrific events of that day, many of these people called for federal government action and subordinating individual rights to ""national interests.""
As we approach September 11, 2002, we should discard sophomoric arguments over ""limited"" or ""expansive"" government. For as Founder James Madison admitted in Federalist Paper #37, the Founders chose broad words to reflect the compromises of the Founders themselves and that experience, not theory, is the best definer of our Constitution's meaning.
For those who insist that the federal government must be strictly limited, consider:
Alexander Hamilton, in 1791, said: ""(T)he general administration of the affairs of a country...ought to be construed liberally in advancement of the public good"" and that legislatures ""must of necessity (exercise) great latitude of discretion...""
James Madison, in Federalist Paper #10, wrote that the ""regulation"" of ""a landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a moneyed interest, with many lesser interests...forms the principal task of modern legislation...""
The Supreme Court, in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), unanimously stated: The Constitution is ""intended to endure for ages to come...and to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs. To have prescribed the means by which government should, in all future time, execute its powers...would have been...unwise...""
Am I arguing for a vision that only reflects the views of Hubert Humphrey and Ralph Nader? No--and that's the point. The Founders gave us the Constitution to debate the merits of public policy proposals, not place them outside the bounds of our discourse. Whether it is Medicare for all Americans or federal airport security, we must debate policy merits, not ivory tower theories of government.
Collection
Citation
“tp169.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 25, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/802.