MSGID: 1:261/1466.0 5f17d70e
 -=> On 07-21-20  11:46,  Michiel Van Der Vlist <=-
 -=> spoke to Dale Shipp about Plum book <=-

 DS> I think that the USA constitution is doing just fine, in spite of how
 DS> it is getting strained lately.  After all it has lasted intact more
 DS> than almost any other country's constitution.

 MVDV> Because it is impossible to change it and adding amendments 
 MVDV> is vey difficult. When push comes to shove that rigidity 
 MVDV> may turn out to be a weakness. It can not be adapted to a 
 MVDV> rapidly changing world.

That was done by intent of the founding fathers.  They wanted something
that might stand the test of time.

 MVDV> A basic weakness of democracy is that it can turn itself 
 MVDV> into a dictatoship if that is what the majority wants. You 

And that is why the USA is not a "pure" democracy, but has three
branches of government which are supposed to be co-equal and which are
supposed to act as checks and balances against abuse of power by any one
branch.

 MVDV> (plural) keep saying that in the US there are checks and
 MVDV> balances that prevent that. I do not share your confidence. 
 MVDV> On the contrary, I wonder if that accident in slow motion 
 MVDV> isn't exactly what we are watching right now... :(

I certainly hope that does not happen, but that the USA gets pulled back
from the brink by the next election.

 MVDV> And no, I am not saying it can not happen here....

Actually, I know far less of your government than you and most Europeans
know about the USA government.  I know more about the British Government
than that of other European countries, probably because I lived there
for three years.

                               Dale Shipp
                  fido_261_1466 (at) verizon (dot) net
                              (1:261/1466)


... Shipwrecked in Silver Spring, Maryland. 02:10:50, 22 Jul 2020
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