What do you think the founding fathers would think of the current state of our government?

I've always though this was an interesting question ever since it was proposed to me by my government teacher years ago. I decided to reflect on it a bit, and I'm curious to know how you all think the founding fathers would feel about our current government.

Personally, I believe that the founding fathers would be extremely unhappy with how our government is currently functioning. While their ideal of checks and balances does still exist, with the different branches still balancing each other out, and one branch having not taken complete power, I believe that there are other reasons why they would be unhappy with our government. I think that if the founding fathers were here today, our two-party government controlled by big money and entrenched in petty partisan politics, as well as our uninformed and apathetic public would disgust them.

John Adams said, “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.” Our entire political system today is literally exactly what he warned against over 200 years ago. For whatever its worth, James Madison also said, “The power of all corporations ought to be limited, […] the growing wealth acquired by them never fails to be a source of abuses.” Which is beyond ironic, considering that the 2015 spending bill passing (which stripped Dodd-Frank of key amendments) is glaring proof that our government doesn’t care the slightest bit about the middle class if it means protecting massive corporations and banks like Citigroup, who basically run our government now, and have since the Clinton Administration. It’s a little bit of a coincidence that Clinton’s Treasury Secretary was a former executive from Goldman Sachs, and that it was under Clinton’s Administration Glass-Steagel was repealed, which had protected our citizens from banks making risky bets with their money since the end of the Great Depression. Following the major banks collapse, and subsequent government bailout, as a result of risky investing and predatory lending which resulted in a dangerous recession and record high unemployment, our government actually realized maybe that wasn’t the best idea and passed Dodd-Frank, in an attempt to prevent this sort of catastrophe again. But thanks to excessive lobbying on the part of Citigroup, we have once again repealed the rules preventing banks (who are insured by the federal government, and taxpayer money), from taking bets with customers’ money.

But when the same thing that happened in 2007 happens again, sure we could blame Citigroup, or we could blame Congress, but we as voters are really to blame. It is our fault for not taking even the minimum amount of time to do some research and educate ourselves about the issues, and to hold our representatives accountable for not protecting our interests. It is our fault that we didn’t care enough to exercise our right (which we are damn lucky to have) to demand representatives who won’t give in to the lobbying, and leaders who won’t cozy up to Wall Street. The founding fathers set up a great system, and it worked well for a long time, and its bastardization is the responsibility of a lot of people, but more than anyone else, it is the fault of the American people.

 

“Our founding fathers would have never tolerated any of this crap. For God's sake, they were blowing peoples' heads off because they put a tax on their breakfast beverage. And it wasn't even coffee.” — Dennis Miller

In all seriousness, with the massive taxation, spying intrusion, trampling of civil liberties, and gun control, I'm guessing the Founders wouldn't be hip to how things are now.

 

I really think that all the ideals went down the drain, capitalism didn't existed at the time, that corrupted all values.

 

Of course they would be appalled at some things. Mainly I think the'd be disappointed in how subservient to government a lot of Americans have become. They'd also be horrified at how big government is and how much control and influence it has in peoples lives.