Common Sense Revisited

Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. - Thomas Paine

Looking at today's headlines, it's become clear that things aren't quite working out as well as Thomas Paine had hoped. He, and the rest of the founding fathers, literally spent years trying to come up with a system of government that would avoid the mistakes of the past. They discussed, argued, compromised, revised, compromised more, and eventually came up with the Articles of Confederation (1777). By the end of the Revolutionary War, it was clear that something more robust was needed; after more years of discussion, argumenet, compromise, etc., the Constitution of the United States(1787) was finalized. Recognizing that they weren't quite there, still more discussion etc. followed and finally produced the Bill of Rights(1791).

Well, it took a while, but it's become clear that things didn't work out as planned. (Some might even point to the Whiskey Rebellion as proof that it didn't take all that long.)

So now what? Do we keep burying our heads deeper in the sand? Do we find new band-aids to slap on top of the layers of old ones? Or is it time to look a little closer at what did work, for how long, and why it eventually failed (or, indeed, if it failed).

I may have a couple ideas on the topic...