Too Good To Be True?

Ah the wonders of the World Wide Web. Instant communication, instant information and instant punditry insure lots of fun stuff to read, not to mention giving one that feeling of being on the cutting edge of what's going on in the world. But how much of the web is basically cow cookies? Moreover, do we have the mental discipline to a.) be suspicious of stories that we really want to believe and b.) not be instantly dismissive of stories we want to utterly reject?

This struck me today when a friend with decidedly leftist tendencies sent me this article. It's really pretty believable. In a nutshell, our current resident president allegedly responded to someone's concern that parts of the "Patriot" Act were unconstitutional by responding: "Stop throwing the Constitution in my face ... it's just a goddamned piece of paper."

I find this wholly believable, insofar as I've often noticed that NO currently serving member of the federal government (with the exception of Congressman Ron Paul) gives a tinker's damn about the Constitution when it gets in the way of whatever they want to do. Moreover, I really want to believe it, as it confirms my belief that demopublicans and republicrats are just two sides of the same big-government, welfare/warfare coin. But does that make it true?? Honestly, I don't know.

Now you'd think that if there was any real evidence to support this, it would be splashed all over the mainstream media. It's no secret that many members of that august establishment are less than positively inclined toward old Shrub, and no doubt they'd be able to generate a lot of throwable mud if they could make this stick.

That makes me suspicious, despite the fact that I want it to be true. Oh, how I want it to be true! It's always satisfying when the bad guy actually admits to his nefarious scheme (which I think is why James Bond movies are fun .... there's the big confession scene, and then we know the bad guy's gonna get it). Yet, in an age where people will tell you with a straight face that the levees in New Orleans were deliberately blown up, or that we never really landed on the moon, or that Intelligent Design really isn't about religion, it pays to be a bit skeptical. Actually, it pays to be a lot skeptical.

I'm also skeptical of how sincere the majority of people are when they claim to worry about health of the Constitution. Regardless of how much you may hate Shrub, NO demopublican or republicrat supporter has ANY moral high ground to stand on when it comes to ignoring the Constitution or regarding it as nothing but a "goddamned piece of paper." Our current form of government is so unconstitutional I could fill several pages just listing the recent violations (such as the "Patriot" Act, the Income Tax, federal control of education, the McCain-Feingold "campaign finance reform" legislation Shrub signed off on, the mountain of so-called "gun control" legislation that's been passed over the years, etc., etc., etc.) -- and both sides of the demopublican / republicrat monolith have joyfully done it.

The real threat to the Constitution is our collective gullibility. Americans like easy answers to complicated questions, instant gratification, and lots of black and white, good and evil explanations of the world we inhabit. Since the majority of the population (including our elected representatives) haven't even bothered to read the Constitution, can we really expect anyone to understand it? Plus, even if they did read it, would they have the courage and discipline to follow it? I'm skeptical of that too. But until someone starts reading it, what I am sure of is that we'll continue to get the government we deserve.