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But at the time the First Amendment was written, the "country" (read: voters) was much more culturally homogeneous and less diverse (effectively: western Europe
by ethbr0 4y ago
But at the time the First Amendment was written, the "country" (read: voters) was much more culturally homogeneous and less diverse (effectively: western European, male, land-owning).
Which is to say, as a consequence of increased liberty and acceptance over the past 250ish years, we now have challenges that the framers didn't have to deal with.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago> much more culturally homogeneous and less diverse (effectively: western European, male, land-owning). While I'd agree that this is how we would view the composition of the early colonies today, I somehow doubt that they would have agreed. The very existence of the United States has changed the baseline for what cultural diversity looks like, so that you can now say things like "Western European" without blinking.
- ethbr0 4y agoDoes it matter how they would have seen themselves, for the modern outcomes I listed above?
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y agoI think it probably does. If the founders saw themselves as already facing issues with a diverse population ("those scots-irish, jeesh"), then presumably they took that into account with the design of the government. If they didn't, then it would be correct to say that the Constitution (etc.) does not pay any attention to the implications of a more diverse population.
- ethbr0 4y agoAh. I'd say that by any definition of "diverse", we're more diverse now. So whether they saw themselves as diverse or not, they weren't trying to solve the problem to the degree to which it now needs to be solved. Or, in other words, they designed a flexible democracy for the world they perceived and the world they could imagine, but at some point imagination fails.