Thus writes American Founding Father, James Madison:
It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they can not be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is today, can guess what it will be tomorrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known and less fixed?
Paraphrased more simply:
It doesn't matter if the people have the freedom to write their own laws, if the laws they write are hard to understand or change frequently. It's not a "rule" if no one knows about it or if it changes often.
That's why most Americans don't bother with the political process; most of it is "over our heads".
1 comment:
Wow. Madison sure did make an accurate prophecy of our current situation! ObamaCare is a good example of a huge law that nobody can understand all the ramifications of, or even read the whole thing. Don't worry: just pass it and then we'll figure out what it means. Yeah, right.
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