Comments about ‘Founders not extremists’

I appreciate your well-reasoned letter. We sure don't want a loud minority of extremists to take us to the brink of disaster again.

"dismayed and frightened by writers who appropriate the Founding Fathers to bolster their own political agenda"

Then he goes on to describe how how they would or wouldn't be today. Sounds like you are using them to "bolster" your own political agenda.

Dont make it sound like the Civil War and teh Revolutionary war were bad things? As for them being moderates?
Nah, they started a war with England! And WON!

They also were not cowards. They signed the Declaration knowing that it could put a noose around their heads. Instead of hiding, they stayed in the open knowing they were wanted men.

Extremists today are cowards. Whether they hide like Osama in the mountains or hide behind a pseudonym on the blogs.

"Extreme" is a relative term determined by whatever the political and social norm of the day happens to be. It is clear that most of the founding fathers had firm love for freedom, individual responsibility and self direction. No, I don't think they would be swayed by these redundant movements toward socialism and communism that have already been proven to fail by history ad the writer seems to suggest.

So the Founding Fathers were not conservatives. I agree. Today's conservatives would have been British loyalists back in 1776. They are good for nothing. They fear change and progress. Yuck to conservatives.

They certainly wouldn't have had anything to do with this current crop of politicos. Why? Because they were all about freedom, self reliance, and personal responsibility. They were also driven by sure moral compass that couldn't be dissuaded.

wrote his manifesto on the misuse of the "general welfare" clause. He said it would be interpreted to mean anything that those wishing to expand government wanted it to mean. Guess he could see the future.

You need to stopping making sense. When, you are so politically corrupted that you have nothing constructive to argue you trying to pervert the words of great people.

I find it funny. The same people that never studied American history, took a government course think they are constitutional law experts. These same people forgot the Earl Warren was a republican.

If you understand our constitution then why can't you see a huge hole in the right wing's arguments? If you feel a law is unconstitutional we had courts to address your concerns. You never hear these isues conservatives bring up in court.

You only avoid taking things that you know you won't win to court. Those feeding you lies, aren't willing to put their money were their mouths are.

I believe that the “founding fathers” were just run-of-the-mill politicians and wealthy businessmen mainly inspired by their desire for personal profits.

And like all politicians they knew that in order to get what they wanted, they would have to sell their idea and plan to a lot of people. Especially those people who would stand up and die for the cause.

So they wrote the Declaration, Constitution and even the Bill-of-rights in ways to appeal to the people and the state governments who mainly controlled the people in their states.

If revolution against England and the English corporations had been a more universal feeling among the Americans, it is likely that the documents would have been worded less appealing to the people. But as it was not, they had a huge selling job.

They may not have been extremists in their day but they would be regarded as extremists today.

For example when Thomas Jefferson said that we need a good revolution every so often to water the soil of freedom with the blood of patriots what would you call that? Liberalism?

Call it for what it is: Outspoken unashamed love of liberty and the willingness to fight to keep it alive.

You really look throught the glass darkly.

I don't know if they were "Extremists" but they were definatly "Revolutionary".

You do realise that they DID revolt against their government and overthrow it... right? Remember that thing called the Revolutionary War back in 1776? They fundimentally transformed their government (and I thank God for them).

I'm pretty sure many considered them "Extremists" back than, and today they would obviously be considered "Radical", "Right-wing-nutcakes", etc.

They obviously wanted a small and controlable Federal Government controled by the people and the States. We obviously don't have that today.

TODAY... the Federal Government controls the States and the people. And we are transforming more and more into THAT form of government all the time.

Anyone who objects to that fundimental transformation is considered by the left and the media to be an "Extremist", "NutCake", "NeoCon", etc. I think MANY of the founding fathers would today fall into that category of "Extremists".

Actually, it seems the Religious Right that is so hung up on historical revisionism i.e. portraying ALL the Founding Fathers as a mainstream Christian.

While they believed in Judeo-Christian ethics and values, its inaccurate to lump them all together.

Typical jaded reaction to a comment that was aimed as much at liberals like yourself as at conservatives.

An extremist is a person who focuses with great intensity on certain aspects of an issue while ignoring other aspects of the issue. That is exactly what you do when you see a comment that condemns all extremism and then talk like it was only referring to conservatives.

The founding fathers may have been extremists, in some respects, as individuals; but as a group, they were far from it. There is a place for extremists. Their arguments and opinions help society to zero in on the truth. They become useless when they start distorting facts, but even that is okay as long as you also listen to opposing extremists. The place I do not want to see extremists is in our government. Usually the majority an keep them out.

Thanks for believing the Founding Fathers were extremeists, and then lay claim they were the Conservative, Neo-Con, right-wing-nut-cakes of their day.

You proved the letter writer correct in his assumption that each side was at play in the founding of the Country.

The Fact is, they were Progressive, Against the Status Quo, Anti-Establishment, Non-elitist, Liberals in every sense of the term.

Another commentor posted @7:53 that the Conservatives of 1776 would have been the Royal loyalists. I agree.

Think about the protestors of Tiannenem Square.
Conservatives or Liberals?

Turn off your radios and think for youselves.

Yeah, to listen to some of these posts you'd think the Founding Fathers would be TV evangelists today. "Harumph." (That was Washington in his grave.)

Anonymous | 12:12 p.m.

Who said anything about their religion? I think that's YOUR hang up.

I don't know or CARE what religion they were, but it is OBVIOUS that part of the reason they came to America and a big concern when establishing the government that would take over after overthrowing the Imperial rule of the King/Queen of England in the colonies... was Religious Freedom. NOT ESTABLISHING a state religion, but TOTAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

If you disagree with that I'd like to see the evidence you base your assumptions on.

Of course they didn't want to establish any certain type of religion (even any certain brand of Christianity) as the Government Mandated religion. Nobody's saying they did that. But that sort of sounds like the straw-man you are setting up and then knocking down in YOUR posting.

Many of the founding fathers may have been Christians. That doesn't matter. They Obviously wanted COMPLETE Religious freedom and NO STATE Religion (including A-THIESM).

Currently we are free. Lets keep it that way.

Our founding fathers could have easily mandated a national religion. They didn't. Instead, they mandated freedom of religion for all. End-o-story.

The first amendment did not prohibit states from maintaining state relegions. It only prevented the federal government from establishing a national relegion or overriding the states choice. It wasn't till 1868 the fourteenth amendment that prevented the states from using a state relegion from limiting citizens of the nation from such things as holding state office. The following list is the state, state relegion and when they were dropped from their state constitutions.

Connecticut Congregational 1818
Georgia Church of England 1789
Maryland Church of England 1776
Massachusetts Congregational 1780
New Hampshire Congregational 1790
North Carolina Church of England 1776
South Carolina Church of England 1790
Florida Church of England 1783
Virginia Church of England 1786