Re: On Shant - Federal Government stuff

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: : : Hi Dan, : : I just wanted to go off topic for a while, I hope you don't mind. : : One of the aspects of the US that I like is the federal system. Obviously this depends upon its practical reality. : : I like the idea of allowing individual communitities to establish their own laws; at a basic level it can mean that people have the option to live under the laws they prefer. : : If Eathre had lived in the US, she could simply upsticks, (leave this patriachal cult) and move to Seattle etc. : : I prefer that idea to banning the cult. : : I would like to see the US devolve more power to the states, centralised power is evil, even when well-intentioned. To return to the text (at last) of the Anome (end of chapter 1) : : 'Eathre stroked his head. "Yes, dear Mur, I know.You would force men to be kind and good and cause a great disaster. Go to sleep now, the world will be much the same tomorrow."' : : What are you're views on this? Especialy the Federal v's State power stuff. : : Nick : Nick-- : To borrow from P.G. Wodehouse (borrowing from Coleridge): You interest me strangely, old chap. : The U.S. has a long history of distrust of centralized power, dating back (of course) to the colonial experience. I certainly agree that there can be evil in centralized power, but I think that the U.S. experience has often been that local tyrannies can be incredibly harsh, and the federal government has done far more to encourage true individual liberties. It took federal governmental power to weed out the most obvious racial injustices of the South. : I feel that many people who complain about the federal government's impinging on individual liberties are persons (or corporations) who would themselves limit other person's liberties. That's an important part of the equation: we can be as thoroughly (or more thoroughly) enslaved by other individuals or business entities as we can be government. Government is only one of many evils in this world; and it is no more evil than any other institution. : Got to run! : Best regards, : Dan

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