

Ask HN: US this bad about civil liberties? - ghosh


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lifeguard
Dear Internet,

America has become a very strange place. At the same time our military was
"bringing freedom to the Iraqi peoples", our legislature and executive
conspired to remove or automate much judicial review of spying. In effect
American citizens lost another type of liberty.

We seem to be better at protecting our access to riffles. Most of the
liberties created by America's founding fathers (women were not allowed to
vote) were designed to thwart the power of a monarchy and the power of the
Roman-Catholic church. Many of these founding fathers were members of a
fraternity called the Free Masons and read authors like John Locke. My point
is they were a fairly homogeneous group of Englishmen.

Since then America has expanded civil rights explicit in the Constitution to
include people of all races and genders. But the Industrial age has been a
constant force of erosion of our liberties. Our elections are not publicly
funded. This means there is a huge advantage to material wealth and the
wealthy have steered Congress to benefit themselves.

The bright shinning star of hope for The Land of The Free is our government is
not systemically corrupt, at least not in the traditional meaning of corrupt.

I think this is a good discussion by Prof Lessig, "Republic Lost":

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxCo2bE9Gtk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxCo2bE9Gtk)

~~~
fianchetto
"Rulers who distrust their own people, must govern in a spirit of absolutism ;
and suspected subjects will be ever sensible of their bondage."

The Constitutional History Of England Vol II

Erskine May

1863

~~~
lifeguard
In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present charter
confirmed for us and our heirs forever that the English Church shall be free,
and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties inviolate; and we will
that it be thus observed; which is apparent from this that the freedom of
elections, which is reckoned most important and very essential to the English
Church, we, of our pure and unconstrained will, did grant, and did by our
charter confirm and did obtain the ratification of the same from our lord,
Pope Innocent III, before the quarrel arose between us and our barons: and
this we will observe, and our will is that it be observed in good faith by our
heirs forever. ++We have also granted to all freemen of our kingdom, for us
and our heirs forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had and held by
them and their heirs, of us and our heirs forever.++

King John of England, Magna Carta

1215

~~~
ghosh
basically rich guys rule?

~~~
lifeguard
Yes, We forced the cake eaters to admit their power is rooted in gold and not
the will of God.

