Latest letter to editor:
A Sunday letter writer suggests
(Emphasis on states' rights will improve nation) that we would be better
served by having the individual states assume some of the governmental
functions that he sees the Federal government as unconstitutionally and
ineffectively performing. He even asserts that the Founding Fathers had
this "libertarian model" in mind when they wrote the Constitution.
While we could certainly debate the possible ramifications of delegating
more authority to the states, the idea that the Founders had that in
mind is curious. They actually set out to strengthen the central
government, not weaken it. They already had a loose confederation of
states with each claiming sovereignty. What they created was a "more
perfect union" with a stated purpose of, among other things, promoting
the general welfare. Probably what the author(s) of the Pledge of
Allegiance were thinking when they wrote the words "One Nation,
Indivisible." No?
