There is an old tale that as Ben Franklin was descending the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia upon ratification of the Constitution, an elderly lady came up to him and asked what type of government he and his peers had bestowed unto the new nation. Franklin is famous for uttering the singular response, “a Republic, if you can keep it.” However, what many of us don’t know or, should I say, fail to consider is precisely that!
The United States of America was never supposed to be a democracy-- far from it. The US was designed to be, and still mostly is, a republic based in rules and laws with strict limits on centralized government power. The rationale behind such restraints placed on the federal government is based in a deep fear of tyranny. This fear translated into the larger idea of individual freedom that all Americans possess as an inalienable right. Limited central government in the United States historically led to the development of a remarkably stable system with longstanding institutions that, many would say, proudly contrasts to the volatility of regimes and governments in Old Europe.
Indeed, since the start of their revolution in 1789, the French have lived under five different republics, two empires, and two monarchies all topped by one puppet fascist regime that collaborated with the Nazis in World War II. Compare this messy record to America which, since 1789, has preserved the same form of government albeit a brief crisis in the form of the Civil War. Now, today’s world (I am sorry to originalists like the late Antonin Scalia who seem to deny this) no longer resembles the one Ben Franklin and the Founders inhabited in the 18th century. Today, there is an overwhelmingly large consensus that the government through its authority and resources shouldn’t be viewed as a potential tyranny that must be tamed, but rather as a force for positive change in a civilized and developed society. This “positive change” we speak of comes in many forms but can be summed up as social engineering and economic development that promote progress which makes a country more tolerant, prosperous, and egalitarian.
Governing—and especially, governing in the interests of the long-term—is an arduous process that requires balancing ideals of tolerance and progress that are regularly at odds with others. How do you balance freedom of expression against hate speech, individual rights against collective interests, religious freedom against secularism (which, by the way, is enshrined in the Constitution), and most relevant of all, economic growth against equality? They say that leaders campaign in poetry but have to govern in prose. Discounting a few who I don’t need to name, the United States has had a lot of wise, forward-thinking, and intelligent leaders who have done an impressive job in this balancing act. However, I believe we are reaching a point whereby the entire system of government itself needs a massive overhaul.
The many changes that we are facing as a society economically, culturally, and technologically make it so that we can no longer truly read the Constitution under an 18th-century lens. Of course, we must always preserve the spirit of the document and live up to the ideals of liberty and justice that it espouses. However, we are dealing with a whole host of modern-day challenges that a government cannot handle with a mindset from 1789. The world has changed. A semi-automatic AR-15 is not the same as an infantry musket with a bayonet. Most people now live in densely populated cities. We no longer amputate people for simple infections and medicine is more complex. Most significant of all, people no longer wear silly wigs to flex their social status. We have Gucci and Canada Goose for that. Americans are obviously fed up with their government because it is not meeting their demands nor is it all that representative. The Constitution needs amendments, legal precedents must change, and finally, new and innovative reforms should be enacted to bring society and the government that serves it as up to date as the iPhones in our pockets.