Happy Monday, FRians! This Monday brings us another fine post from Mrs. P! Thank you so much! Everyone have an awesome day!!
Too many politicians bring up the word precedent when deciding what ways the government should fix America. Whenever they have a disagreement with the opposing party, they talk about what predecessors have done and what the normal way of doing things used to be. To me, this is problematic. If America has always done something a certain way, why not change it if we are not getting anywhere? I see it time and time again that people want change but when it is time to do something different they will not.
Precedent usually comes up when there is something different an opposing party politician wants to do differently. Yet, these actions are rules of law or written in the Constitution. We seem to have a subset of people that are stuck in traditions even to the detriment of our people. That is a silly way to run things. Good leadership look at problems and think of all possible outcomes before moving forward with a plan. It isn’t smart to me to do something just because that’s the way it has always been done. And, it being done that way isn’t a viable excuse when that action fails us. The America people deserve our politicians to try new things if it’ll be to our benefit.
The average age of Congress is 57. The House Speaker is 80. The two party candidates for 2020 election are in their 70s. It would seem that our government is ran by older generations who come from a time when things were done one way. Modern times will call for modern solutions. Being hung up on precedents without concern for the time we live in will not solve our modern issues. America will be stuck in the past as other nations pass us by.
This is why the Founders created the Constitution. It is our grounding document detailing key areas of government function. In fact, it even has a mechanism built in it to add to the amendments already there. It was so that future politicians had something to reference where needs arose in different situations. There is no need to fall back on precedent when our founding documents guide us on a certain path.
Simply put, precedent is just a tool to control the opposition. When one party is in power, they believe that their actions are the will of the American people. Yet, when the opposing party takes charge, we must view precedent when things need to get done. No.
Following the ways of things being always done a certain way stagnates growth and limits prosperity. The reason America is such an exceptional country isn’t because it does everything right. It is exceptional because it was founded on being and doing differently. America has always stood in the way of tyrants and dictators who though their old ideals were best, it is why America stands in the way of socialism/communism, because those ideas are old and tired.
It is our way to look past precedent to find a modern solution founded in our country’s guiding principles. Forget talk about precedent and let us solve the issues that Americans need fixing yesterday.
