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LibraSoul,
I think we are getting to an interesting point in this discussion. Granted, the courts have held that a US Citizen has the right to express himself in many ways including treating the flag of our country in ways which I personally find grossly inappropriate. I believe the point has been made that the right to do something may or may not demonstrate its appropriateness. Since it can reasonablly be argued that appropriateness is rather subjective may we please accept that we disagree in good conscience and move on to another point. If I understand your comments you say that while not comparing our form of government with any other, you dislike and are disappointed with what we have in place.
OK, I don't think any reasonable person would seriously argue that what we have is perfect. Any human institution is by its very nature flawed and capable of improvement. However, I would argue that at least a certain amount of comparison would appear to me to be necessary if only to see if anyone else had developed something that works better and serves the interests of the citizen better. That would allow us to examine what we have in place, compare it to alternatives and come to consensus so that we might adopt those aspects we agree would improve the status quo.
It is a bit unclear to me if your position argues for improvements to government in its current form or if it seeks a fundamental change to the form and nature of our government. In either case, I think it would be interesting if you would propose what changes and/or improvements ought to be made. We might disagree or we might well find that there are large areas where we agree completely.
I would argue against a radical change to the form and nature of our government on two points. First, of all alternative forms of government of which I am aware, ours seems to be something that works reasonably well and demonstrably better than the known alternatives (at least those known by me), is capable of improvement in response to the consensus of the electorate, and despite any of its flaws seeks to benefit its citizens. It is by no means perfect, but we can amend and improve what is as we seek what ought to be. In taking the long view it seems to me that considering where we were, we have come a long way to fixing what was not right and doing what is right. Of course we have a long way to go and many real challenges to meet and overcome, but I believe that the vehicle provided by our constitution provides the the best of the alternatives for us as a nation to get to where we should eventually be.
Second, when I was commissioned in the Army I swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. I believe in our constitution and I take that oath very seriously. So by extension, I believe in protecting your right to disagree with my opinion, but I personally have to come down solidly in favor of keeping what we have and polishing the rough spots as we go forward.
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