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Dave Racer's Essays
These essays were first written for the Contemporary Issues class I tutor. They are to educate individuals and offer an opinion on a variety of issues. They may be not be reproduced without express written permission of Dave Racer (write Dave). Readers may forward links to this page without Dave's permission.
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Special Essay By Gary Amos |
Ideas make a world of difference
The founding fathers wrote in The Declaration of Independence about “self-evident truths.” By this, they meant that
observable, absolute truth does exist, and
on these truths as foundation blocks, they could build both a philosophy for
living and governing.
To discover truth, the founding fathers could have
looked to human philosophers, as did the French revolutionaries. And indeed,
they did consult contemporary and historical writers of their day, but not
as primary sources. For primary sources, they looked to the Holy Bible.
[To read the entire essay, you will
need Adobe Acrobat; click here]
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America’s Judicial System ~ The Ruling Oligarchy
How
it was supposed to be
America's legal system during the time of the writing
of the United States Constitution sat on a strong foundation of more than
1,000 years of tradition. England had been governed by a patchwork of
tradition, Common Law, Magna Charta and the checks and balances offered by
the tension between Parliament and English Kings. They did not have a
written constitution and, in fact, still do not.
The English traditions had well served the first
Americans. Legal disputes could be settled by Common Law courts, relying on
precedents that were hundreds of years old. Judges could appeal to local
traditions that did not conflict with Common Law, and they could look to the
Bible for guidance. A jury of one's peers would, more than likely, consist
of people who might actually know the accused, or the litigants.
[To read the
entire essay, you will need Adobe Acrobat; click here]
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