

Welcome to USA 2.0 - sendos
http://andrewoneverything.com/post/62584740454/welcome-to-usa-2-0

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anigbrowl
This argument suffers from a severe lack of historical context.

 _The original USA, founded on, among other principles, freedom from an
overbearing government, has changed._

Actually, the USA is founded upon the need for a strong central government
following the failure of the Continental Congress (under the Articles of
Confederation) to yield stable governance or economic growth, culminating in
Shays' rebellion (although the Constitutional Convention had already been
called by that time).

The government installed following the Declaration of Independence was
ineffective and proved unable to negotiate treaties or even manage its own
frontiers because it was too decentralized and provided the States with too
many incentives to compete rather than cooperate. And so, 13 years later, the
US adopted its current Constitution, creating a much stronger central
government with distinct powers over the States and strong Executive and
Judicial branches in addition to a legislative branch. This was bitterly
opposed by a group known as Anti-Federalists, and the famous _Federalist
Papers_ were a series of essays published in newspapers to refute their
various claims and argue for a strong federal government.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution#Firs...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution#First_government)

~~~
theandrewbailey
> Actually, the USA is founded upon the need for a strong central government
> following the failure of the Continental Congress (under the Articles of
> Confederation) to yield stable governance or economic growth, culminating in
> Shays' rebellion (although the Constitutional Convention had already been
> called by that time).

Never mind the part about a war a decade or so earlier caused by deep seated
distrust towards the former government.

------
rtpg
>However, the problem with the above is: if this is a war, when will it end?
The First World War lasted about four years, and the Second World War lasted
about six years. This war started, at least in its current incarnation, in
2001 and is still going strong, twelve years later. There is no realistic end
in sight. The war on terrorism is likely to last several decades, if not
longer.

Aren't a lot of the laws involved (including the AUMF) linked to Al-Qaieda and
friends? You can't kill an ideology, but you can obliterate a single
organisation given enough time.

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qwerta
USA is at war with terror? I thought radical Islamists are good guys now
(Lybia, Syria...)

