What would our "founding fathers" of the USA think today?
605685
they would say.\n\nlet me back on my casket...
811840
Not that exact phrase, if that's what you are asking.  There was a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists in 1802. In that letter, quoting the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, he writes: "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." You might also want to note the Treaty of Tripoli (1796), in which it is stated that "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;..."\n\nObviously, if the founders wished to create a government in which religion would hold sway, or have a formal say in civil law or liberties, they could have easily done so. They did not create a theocracy, but a democratic republic. All of the above has been primarily interpreted to support separation of church and state, and the Supreme Court has upheld this "notion" time and time again. It never fails to amaze me how some people persist in believing the founders intended this country to be based on religious (Christian) tenets. They weren't idiots - if they wished that to be the case they could have clearly laid it out as such. Their personal writings and letters reflect controversy of feeling over the matter, and quotes can be found to reflect both positions. The proof in the pudding is that they chose to erect that wall, and did not choose to install a government run by religious leaders, and made sure those would be leaders had no power to do so. Considering that the founders had widely differing religious leanings and knew the pitfalls of a government led by the "church," it probably wasn't a hard decision to reach. The difficulty most likely lay in the language to be used. There were religious leaders of that day who wished for nothing more than a theocracy to be created. The founders had to reach a consensus on how to word the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to please everybody, and that included the theocratists. They did such a good job that we are still arguing over it today. We trust our Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution, and they have done so time and time again, in favor of the wall. It's an integral part of our government, this wall, and if it weren't the Pat Robertsons and Fred Phelps of our nation would be dictating our laws and civil rights. A scary thought, that.
1170011
No.  Our founding fathers declared that Church and State were separate and that ALL peoples and beliefs were equal in the eyes of the law.\n\nI'm constantly scared that we're on a slippery slope and those freedoms are being taken away by groups that believe that the US was founded for them.  It was not.
718717
hell no...way too much government and the governement seems to think it can regulate every detail of our lives...that was not the original intention of the founding fathers\n\nthe government that rules least..rules best
832708
As many have already said, those lines you use are from Thomas Jefferson's editted 'Declaration of Independence'.  It was merely congressional document forwarded to the British King, and not an official policy of America.\n\nOur founders were idealistic of this country.  Although when you get down to the truth of the issue, all of them wanted America for white people.  Even Jefferson believed that slaves would have to be eventually shipped to Africa to prevent the calamity between the two races (which he highly feared), and what he thought were cultural difference.  It's not that they were overtly racists in todays terms, they were more or less realists to how different the cultures were.   Within many of our founder journals they noted it would take quite sometime for even eastern europeans to evolve enough to be part of America.  Thus the reason why immigration was restricted to the western europeans for sometime.\n\n 'The People' in all essence were American born or former western europeans.  The founders really wanted to make a country like Europe, but without the messy politics of Europe.  Only when the 14th amendment was made (which was more or less forced on to the south), was anyone but white considered a person with constitutional rights.\n\nIn the case of foreigners/illegal immigrants not having special rights in America,... it's fairly simple.  The Constitution give Congress the right to dictate policy on immigration/naturalization.  While history shows you that for consesus building, the Constitution did a horrible think in permitting slavery; it also shows you the pragamatism of politics.  Reality is illegal immigration has conflicting nature like slavery.  People of all sides favor it or disfavor it, depending on the interests.  While you might consider it wrong, the laws of our land and our people say in larger force that it's right.  It may not be perfect, and it may have to be worked on, but that's government, and people. \n\nI would not pull the race card on this, though, as it depletes the actual nature and reasoning of why we have it today.  As I've shown you (very honestly), that our past exhibits many wrongs, but our present has much more to do with structural capabilities and cultural harmony.
776792
I wouldn't; it is an outdated system that needs to be completely overhauled...the genius of the founding fathers is that they knew that they could not anticipate what the future would be and therefore built in a system to change things as the country evoled...i.e the second amendment and the electoral college both need to be reconsidered
88011
My grandfather was a Freemason, and had no thoughts of founding a new world order.  He was a very spiritual man, and the Masons helped him study and express his spirituality.\n\nMany of our founding fathers were Freemasons, and their symbolism is entwined with American history.  A new world order?  Maybe it was already founded!
1083845
I believe that most Americans are under the illusion that they truly have free speech, true democracy. etc..   Compare the actions of previous actions of dominant empires throughout history.  Have we transformed or are Americans fooled by a cleaver rouse.
727895
It sounds like you are an independent American capable of thinking and wanting what is right for the country. Now if we can just get our "leaders" to listen maybe we can fix this country.
423161
you are right. and i see another piece of misinformation cropping up as well.  our founding fathers were not christian.  one was an atheist and the others were all Diest (belief in the clockwork structure of the universe.  God made it all, wound it up, and lets it go.  God does not take a personal or vested interest in any part of his creation.).  So no knowledge of the Treaty of Tripoli or that there were NO Christian Founding Fathers of America.
80782
This is a thoughtful question..........Yes, this is a real possibility. America has always stood for the premise of what our country was founded by our forefathers.  Today we have so many people that want to enjoy the "freedom" of our Nation but do not want to accept the responsibilities. Many people do not hold to the same beliefs of the Bill of Rights or the Constitution...........they think of self and the dollar.  Many of the same 7 reasons Rome fell exist in the United States today.  Others have touched on the reasons, this weakens our nation. We need to take back the strengths that we held true in the 20th century and prior years.
673765
There are so many! I think I would have to go with George Washington.  Can you believe what he did with what others called an army of men with pitchforks? He was a good leader and because of that we were able to establish the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and he was our first President.  He is one of our founding fathers.  That would be a great paper to write on because it can be about patriotism and that's what our country needs right now.  Let us know who you go with!
878548
I think the real question is: can we as America ever come back to our senses and be America again? real patriots, begin with dumping  ACLU and cancel their charter, put God before, nation next, family above all, American pride, ingenuity, industrialism,production, winners not whiners, winners not loose-rs, bold not cold, brave to stand up for what is right for all not just the few, force by vote both parties to focus on America not their own interests, be aware of what they are voting/acting in both Houses where we send our Rep's, take charge of what is placed in the curriculum of our schools and not be "jello's", be brave to take part not to sit back watching, use the Constitution to make the proper changes BACK to been America..."the land of the free and the home of the brave".................................
888684
I think that most people in our country today have no idea what it is like to go without!!  Most of us in America have no idea what injustice and No freedom means, therefore so many of us take it for granted!!! There is no perspective...there is nothing in most of our experience to compare it to!!! All of the groundwork was laid out for us by our forefathers!!! If we don't take an active seat in forming the laws, our country could come out of hand ....my best recommendation is to let everyone in your circle know how very important it is to retain our freedoms and use our tools for stabilizing this free country we are living n today!!! In world History we have seen mightier fall!!!
363729
Our founding fathers wouldn't dare to speak to the administration.  They would be disgraced to be called Americans,  They would be disgraced that thier actions were tranformed to this, They would be disgraced at what America has done, but mostly, I feel like they would be disgraced to see what is now called a "Patriot" by the administration.  The founding fathers were true patriots, they followed the wishes of a country, not of 1 man or a party.\n\nNote that with all the "patriotic" speeches Bush makes, he never mentions the founding fathers.  His speech writers know better.
157408
My answer would be yes due to the Fact that the founding fathers understood the value of human rights thus the "Declaration of Independence" was born. The reformation in reality was the reforming of the peoples mind and the understanding of what "SELF EVIDENT" meant. One Nation Under God, "indivisable" meant you could nt be seperated from the devine.. "In him we live, breath, move and have our existance, with liberty and Justice  for all...these liberties where granted by the supreme creator of the universe, and our founding fathers along with Martin Luther knew this, they preached it, practiced it, and most of all, LIVED IT....MAY GOD BLESS
1105868
Thank you. Hear that fundies? We're not picking on you, we just want things to be equal. And before someone says it, our founding fathers were not Christian. They were deists. \n\nhttp://www.theology.edu/journal/volume2/ushistor.htm\nhttp://dim.com/~randl/founders.htm\n\n"It was during [John] Adam's administration that the Senate ratified the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which states in Article XI that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.'"