Brain Fertilizer

Kerry's latest campaign slogan says something about "Let America Be America Again." I think.
Nick Berg's dad said something about America under President Bush not being the American he grew up in.

I've heard it often said that the miracle of the United States of America is an unprecented recognition of rights...

"Progressives" are advocating the expansion of rights as "progress", as if we should be on an inevitable quest to seek out new freedoms and grant/recognize them as soon as possible.

"America: It's a Free Country", right?

I submit that the basis of the experiment was not freedom. The miracle of the United Staes was not in the recognition/guarantee/granting of freedom, it was simply the recognition of the fallibility of humans, and a corresponding structure designed to prevent that fallibility from tyrannizing the citizens.

Stability, not freedom, was the goal. Freedom was always intended to be secondary to stability and power balance. Evidence? Well, originally, the only people whose freedom and rights were guaranteed were white land-owners. Freedoms and rights were expanded slowly over time only when enough people were convinced the expansion would not upset the stability or create imbalances in the power structure.

After a little over 200 years, we've finally gone off the wire, and the system is breaking down from groups of people who have learned to manipulate the system against the will of the majority.

Discuss.