The foundations of your ideal government

[reflaxion.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! You have just been granted sovereignty. As the interim leader of your people, the masses look to you for guidance on how to proceed with the rigorous process of building your government. The parchment and quill pen are in your hand - what will you do?

A building should have a strong foundation, and a government should have strong founding principles. If you had to draft a constitution for your own nation today, what would be the core values that you would base it on? What rights would you guarantee your citizens, and what would you restrict? What would be the role of your government - its rights and responsibilities? What parts of your constitution would be adaptable, and what would be consistent?

Blah blah health care socialism town hall astroturfing birth certificate. Now none of you can say this post didn't get through your search filters, so let's see some ideas.

Comments

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

The foundation of my ideal government would be one that accepts the necessity of leadership that protects the weak and the vulnerable and yet also answers to the masses as the fulfillment of their will.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

largely depends on the population

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

A constitution written by one man is not a constitution worth having.

[reflaxion.livejournal.com]

I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't answer my own questions, so here goes:

My underlying foundation can be summed up in one sentence: The role of the government is to protect the basic well-being of the people, as long as the people are willing to accept and support it. (I had intended to use the word "welfare," as it was used in the U.S. Constitution, but I didn't want to confuse anyone.)

The basic rights would be:
1) Freedom of opinions, ideas and beliefs. As long as the physical actions of the people do not violate law, they will be free to express any opinions they want. All censorship of "indecency" will be handled completely on a local level (so that those who wish to have may live in a locale with like-minded individuals), while national media will be protected from censorship on the national level (locales may choose to ban publications or stations at their discretion).
2) Informed participation in government. The government will be a republic, but more democratic in style, with the ability to vote on a regional level for major proposals made by the national government. Representatives may still choose to ignore the majority opinion of their constituents and vote the way they feel is best, but doing so would be grounds for impeachment by public vote. In an effort to ensure that the system is advanced by those who care enough about an issue to understand it, citizens must be able to prove a basic understanding of the text in the bill they are voting for or against in order to cast their vote. Elections for representatives are open to all citizens of voting age, and voting records of candidates will be easily accessible. Debates would be held and regulated so that candidates would actually have to discuss their ideas on important issues, rather than attacking each other.
3) Protection of life, liberty and property (yeah, I stole this from the original U.S. ideals). There will be laws against the physical harm, wrongful detainment, or abuse of another person against their will (with burden of proof on the accused to show that it was not against their will), or the dishonest swindling or theft of property and money (which includes laws protecting consumers by regulating information on the products and services they buy). Citizens will be allowed to arm themselves, so long as any have a permit showing they are trained in the use of any firearms they own and each firearm is registered. Citizens will also be allowed to defend themselves, their families, and their homes through the use of force, but the burden of proof will be on the citizen to show that the threat existed (so people cannot simply shoot guests in their home, but can shoot someone breaking in).

(continued)

[xpiscesgrl227x.livejournal.com]

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I personally believe your rights end when you infringe on someone else's, but I'm not sure how I'd write that up and enforce it.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

A plain-English version of the current Constitution with current vernacular (to eliminate "confusion" around terms like "well-regulated" and "general welfare"):

* Clearer protections against racial and gender discrimination by the government.

* An explicit ability for the Supreme Court to intervene on legislation that does not meet Constitution muster.

* An explicit, easy way to remove members of the government who act in ways that are not in accordance to the Constitution.

* A clear and precise note that the document, as it does today, assures limited government and passes along rights to the states and the people.

The US Constitution is one of the better, if not the best, foundational document in the world. The only problem with it is the people who insist on distorting it, so that's the major stuff that needs to be addressed.

[mcpreacher.livejournal.com]

the universal declaration of human rights is far superior to the u.s. bill of rights, so i'd probably start there and maybe add a "mcpreacher is awesome" holiday so we can celebrate life and hotbox it up with ambassadors of other countries to try and hash out our differences