> just look at America right now when the president decided the norms established by a bunch of dumb dead people don't matter. The current administration isn't

> just look at America right now when the president decided the norms established by a bunch of dumb dead people don't matter. The current administration isn't taking the US in some completely random direction, they very knowingly exploit the unquestioning reverence for old-time America to their advantage. Thanks to originalism, the US has its best shot at going back in time by being able to shake the foundations of modern laws. The conservatives' best chance at snapping away some of the civic rights that were granted in the 20th century isn't actual policy proposals, its reinterpretations of old laws and rulings. The US has never been as concerned with what dead people wanted as it is now, because dead people can't speak for themselves, and the US admin will exploit it by putting words in their mouths through reinterpretations of old writings. It's the strongest argument, because it lets them get away with not arguing anything important, but rather rely on the near-religious love for all things "old America" and then justify that this is what the people would have wanted, this is true freedom as they envisioned it. They aren't moving away from their legacy, they're weaponizing it with full knowledge of just how unshakable the civil religion is. While all countries have their beloved figures, I can't think of any place quite like the US where so much air is wasted arguing not on the merits of things, but what someone thinks these dead people would've thought about in the past. Being able to tie your proposal to the founders in some way is a very strong argument for you, regardless of anything else. There is a difference between revering the mathematicians that discovered fundamental truths that we're building on to this day or writers who have laid the groundwork for modern culture, and thinking that (undoubtedly influential and intelligent) politicians from over two centuries back have had godlike foresight to set the one true course for all of society forever, and that questioning or altering any of their decisions is completely unacceptable.