America's Founding

This post is the first in a series of posts that will discuss the founding of the current US government.  I wanted to write about this because I wanted to learn more and think more about the founding.  I was watching one of the news stations and was appalled by the bickering between a Democrat and a Republican.

I think that we can do better than our current system of government.  But not in the sense that I think our system is broken but that our the way in which most party members approach the system and their respective interpretations of the founding documents.

As an example, the current discussion about the "Fiscal Cliff" brings a lot of contention.  Both parties see that there is a fiscal problem in our country.  The economy is performing poorly, and we don't have enough revenue to cover our expenses.  Instead of cooperation, there is a positional bargaining negotiation taking place between the parties in power.  This is how the system is broken.  At the same time there are fundamental differences between the principles each party uses in configuring a solution.

What I hope to accomplish through this series of posts is to formulate my own opinion, independent of what any media or outside source is telling me, about how the system should work and an interpretation of the founding principles.

As well, I will try to reconcile the conflicts between those founding principles.  An example of this might be "what role does morality have in deciding constitutionality of laws?"  The main example of this is my mind right now is based on the question of homosexual marriage.  The issue is not as simple as everyone makes it sound. Many against it justify their position based solely as a moral issue.  Many in favor of it justify their position based solely on their interpretation of constitutional equality.  The conflict for me is how a Christian should answer this question.

But answers to these types of issues will come only after a deeper analysis at the founding documents.  So that is where I will start, with the Declaration of Independence.