The following discussion clip is from the Occupy Wall Street demand discussion list.
Here is the lead in post from occupythegreenparty:
It doesn’t matter what system it is it’s the PEOPLE. Somewhere there will be someone who wants to break the rules, get more than they’re supposed to, feels their rights are being abused. Our constitution is not bad at all. It just needs an access amendment to the election system so that our different ideas can be shared and chosen.
Here is my reply:
Nanook:
I know there was a lot of discussion preceding this. But I think this statement got carried away. Our Constitution is a disaster. It is filled with inconsistencies and misuse of words. Let me just use one case: the first amendment.
Most people believe that the first amendment “guarantees” the right of FREEDOM OF RELIGION. The problem is, people have an idealized image of the word “freedom”. They believe such a thing can actually exist. It can’t. (See my previous discussion about that.) As soon as one religion establishes a “thou shalt” which doesn’t agree with a “thou shalt not” of another religion, the possibility of freedom in society breaks down. For example, if one religion believes all those who do not believe their doctrine are “heathens” and must be killed, then there is NO possibility of Freedom for anyone as soon as there is one other religion in the society. Or, if a religion believes that ALL the people in a society must say one of THEIR prayers to their god, every day or they will be subject to punishment from their god, then freedom is again lost for any part of the society not in their clan. The fact that our country is home to over a thousand religious doctrines brings this problem to a head very quickly.
I’ve also heard it stated many times, “can’t each person just keep their religion to themselves?” This sounds logical at first, but again, falls apart in practice. The reason is that most religious beliefs require “social action” in some form. So people might hold some beliefs inside themselves. But any of those beliefs that require outside action create a conflict with others who don’t hold the same belief.
This same problem comes up over and over in the constitution. See http://A3society.org under the Democracy tab.
