Why didn't I think of that? I'll do it tomorrow. But how will this stay the rule if the majority of the population don't want it to be? Governments change as populations do. They can get more or less protective of human rights and they can overthrow former agreements.https://twitter.com/jimm_eh/status/991438974169243648 …
If most of you wanted to become a Marxist or Islamist or Christian dominionist or whatever state, its hard to see how the bill of rights would stop that. America as a society would decide to change the basis of its government.
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Your bill of rights is only safe for as long as Americans generally value it. Imagine if you somehow became predominantly Sharia supporting Muslims overnight. What would make you respect the authority and history of that?
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Absolutely! That's where the ethics argument gets fun! What is majority rule weighted against the consent of the governed. My government (for the past few decades) doesn't value a lot of things regarding individual liberty, even when a majority do value them - is that tyranny?
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I'm not talking about ethics for a change. I'm talking about a much simpler reality that the rules of a country reflect the societal norms within it because society makes the rules.
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Does society actually make law? Our last election would have been decided (one way or the other) by ~45 Million, numerous eligible voters don't vote, nore are minors and other members of society. 60 Million Pastafarians could make Sagnarelli Law a reality.
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I am not talking about this. I am speaking on a much larger timescale in which yes, society changes and with it laws. Its not a coincidence that secular liberal democracies exist where the Enlightenment happened and Muslim theocracies exist where most people are Muslim.
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So to be clear, you are referring society (as it pertains to values) influencing government over a period generations (decades and centuries). As those moral values change over generations so then does the laws and governments.
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Yes, exactly. Look at how England has changed over the last 2000 years. The zeitgeist changes and with it society and with it government even if at various stages, it upholds some values which are at odds with the majority.
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Got Ya! With that, do you think its possible for any culture or society to resist change. Even some of the most hardline cultures that have actively resisted reformation for fundamentalism are softening. (Ex: Women Protesting in Iran; China's talent for capitalism)
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