tyranny, face up to it

The wisdom of James Madison:

“If men were angels,

no government would be necessary….

Is there no virtue among us?—

If there be not, we are in a wretched situation.

No theoretical checks—

no form of government, can render us secure.”

James Madison was a potent voice in the political wrangling and public debate that preceded the ratification of the U. S. Constitution in June 1788.

He was an articulate supporter of the Constitution and a leader among the Federalists who favored creation of a national government with a broad range of federal powers that constrained the powers of the states.

Madison shared the fear of his educated elite contemporaries that the “tyranny of the majority” was a notably possible flaw in a system of government based on elected representatives of the people.

If Madison were alive today he might say something like:

“Forsooth, we never imagined it might turn out this bad. We must rally the true friends of the Republic.”

Source:

To Begin the World Anew: The Genius and Ambiguities of the American Founders

Bernard Bailyn, New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., c2003, repr. 2004, 34.

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Book review: Tales from Shakespeare

summaries by Charles and Mary Lamb…

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many waters: more poems with 53 free verse poems,

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