Kevin Bleyer: "Me The People: One Man's Selfless Quest To Rewrite The Constitution Of the United States of America"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-06-11/kevin-bleyer-me-people-one-mans-selfless-quest-rewrite-constitution-united-states-a
In a letter to James Madison in 1789, Thomas Jefferson said the U.S. Constitution should naturally expire after 19 years because "the earth belongs always to the living generation." By Jefferson’s standard, the Constitution should have been rewritten 11 times by now. Kevin Bleyer took it upon himself to update our founding document for the 21st century. A writer for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Bleyer noted that “for two centuries, we have been expected to abide by it, live by it, swear by it ... yet we have no idea what it says.” He joins Diane to discuss how he used history and humor to bring attention to long-standing constitutional debates.
Guests
Kevin Bleyer
writer for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," co-author of "Earth: the Book" and contributor to President Obama's speeches.
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Author portraits courtesy of "Me the People: One Man's Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America" by Kevin Bleyer. All rights reserved.
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Excerpt from "Me the People: One Man's Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America" by Kevin Bleyer. Copyright 2012 by Kevin Bleyer. Reprinted here by permission of Random House. All rights reserved.
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Considering the works of Adam Curtis (Century of the Self) Bleyer's rewrite seems more applicable to the 20th Century. The US Constitution retains an air of superstition but has been almost totally transcended by Neo-conservative judicial activism and global business agreements. Maybe Kevin needed instead to write a mocking code of conformity based on the new corporate sovereignty that supercedes nation state governments and negates democracy.
This is a trogloditic spinoff product trading on the mild humor and fun poking of the Daily Show now worn almost as thin in relevance as the commercially docile Saturday Night Live. (Tends to lull People into inaction and acceptance) There is a place for truly radical statements exploring an escape from the financial and political Hell in which we are trapped, but this poor alternative is at best gallows humor.
How does such silliness square with Diane Rehm's continual exploration of human rights by examination of our mostly negated founding documents?
I think this frivolous and outdated distraction detracts from that serious effort. This is a plug. It is only a plug. Who got paid?
Pancake, do you ever really listen to the DR show or are you a hit and run poster? If you did listen you would realize that the show has a variety of subjects and guests including authors, celebrities and others.
It is very nice for us to have polite discussions - we need many more of them. However, it is also important to realize that without political discussions and honesty about political issues, politeness can very easily become camouflage.
I would say that a policy that would improperly disenfranchise 10-100 voters in order to prevent one ineligible voter from voting (by actually removing them from the rolls or by discouraging them from voting) is a foolish policy.
I would also say that a policy that would disenfranchise 10-100 voters to strike one ineligible voter when it is known that a majority of them are likely members of another party is an immoral policy.
45-48 years ago I actively worked in Mississippi, Louisiana, & Georgia to enfranchise persons improperly removed because of race. Today, in Florida with less physical energy I work to enfranchise persons improperly removed because of class, poverty & - yes -race.
If this be politics, make the most of it!
Actually very little "housekeeping" was done after the Civil War. Why wasn't there a constitution convention after the war to resolve federalism vs. states rights, which is still dogging us 150 years later. Victors get to write history, and also get to rewrite constitutions.
Thank-you for your service.
I had to laugh when Romney spoke about the guy who suggested that the constitution require any president to have "business" experience. Remember that George W. Bush was a "businessman" and touted his business "experience" when pressing his case for votes. We all know how that turned out.
My own requirement for POTUS: the candidate must have been hungry for a period longer than the period of time between breakfast and lunch, or lunch and dinner.
I think this is an important exercise to the extent that it reinforces that the Constitution is an human artifact, and not obviously the product of divine revelation.
Gary s wrote:
Actually very little "housekeeping" was done after the Civil War. Why wasn't there a constitution convention after the war to resolve federalism vs. states rights, which is still dogging us 150 years later. Victors get to write history, and also get to rewrite constitutions.
Except when the victor is a Democrat and an African-American President. Then, there is no victory.
Great nym!
Is that from Lovecraft, or Robert Anton Wilson?
Can't remember.
Didn't it ever DAWN on you that they advertise topics in advance for a reason?
By your accounting I'd have to start reading the book for Reader's Review at the beginning of the appropriate segment. The nature of the Internet is disjointment from time and therefore "hit and run."
I made some defensible points and if you disagree please explain.
Enigmatic Neil Young has this week re-released Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" emphasizing the verse:
"As I was walkin'- I saw a sign there,
And on that sign said- No Tresspassin'.
But on the other side, It didn't say nothin'.
That sign was made for you and me."
Which about sums up the way I feel about wealth and class bias enshrined in the Constitution, and in Megatech (big media).
*I do farm work, relief work and social work and cannot always drop my tasks to comment on subjects of interest, so I find it advantageous to write in advance. Thanks DRShow.
Contrast this name-dropping and what-if with Noam Chomsky's visit at On Point the same day. (These two radio shows often cover the same topics, as prescribed by Megatech, often on the same date and in the same hour, depending on syndication. They are almost as in unison as the bleeds and ledes on local network news. Pretty weird when you assume they could choose from "ANYTHING.")
Not so hot without Jon Stewart's smirks and eyebrow raising.
Gerald: Why settle?
Howard Stern reading the Bill of Rights with fart sounds and catcalls is preferable to most of infotainment.
When content is super-polite and super-mediocre, what message is sent?
(Possible answer: This is not something you should care about.)
Gary s wrote:
"Why wasn't there a constitution convention after the war to resolve federalism vs. states rights, which is still dogging us 150 years later".
It wouldn't solve the issue, Gary. As long as we are a republic the tug of war will continue. The founders did the best they could to produce a republic with strong states and a FG with enumerated powers. But the power hungry will never be satisfied when it is "we the people" that should have the power.
He mentioned the President selected by random lottery. I got to thinking that lottery, rather than popular vote, might be a foolproof form of campaign reform. No need for a campaign. Doesn't matter how much money one spends on publicity. This could especially work well for one of the houses in Congress. Maybe not for the president since there is only one president, but a house in Congress could be selected by random lottery and since there are many members it would come close to representing the American people. The members of that body could be chosen at large, rather than from districts, because, like the president, there is only one representative per district. A large body, selected by lottery, to represent the whole population could represent a wide cross section of the American people. Not just those who can raise enough campaign contributions to win in an election.
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