Company

Couldn't tell for sure whether these were three wise men or three old hens. Somebody has definitely been introducing more alien species. Too bad Thanksgiving isn't sooner!

The Federalist Papers

I finished the Federalist a few weeks ago -- all 575 pages in my edition. I was struck by the fact that these 85 articles, published in New York newspapers every few days, were written to persuade the people of New York to ratify the Constitution, a document of only 10 pages (before the Bill of Rights). Jay, Madison and Hamilton, writing anonymously as Publius, parsed every sentence, rebutted every opposition argument. Not once did they suggest the people merely trust them. Never did they say the Constitution needed to be enacted so we could see what was in it. What a contrast to recent history!

I also was impressed by their insights into human nature, and why they felt the Constitution would establish a system of government that would build on its strengths and protect against its weaknesses. In No. 51, explaining how it would protect against a concentration of power, Publius wrote: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. ... It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."

Hamilton wrote this as an aside in No. 70 on the executive: "In the legislature, promptitude of decision is oftener an evil than a benefit. The differences of opinion, and the jarrings of parties in that department of the government, though they may sometimes obstruct salutary plans, yet often promote deliberation and circumspection, and serve to check excesses in the majority." In justifying short terms for representatives: "It is a received and well-founded maxim, that ... the greater the power is, the shorter ought to be its duration..." (No. 52)

They sought balance: "The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust." (No. 57)

Some of the things they sought to protect against, have happened none the less: "It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be tomorrow." (No. 62 on why senate terms should be six years.)

In No. 45, Madison wrote: "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs; concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."

We've come a long way, baby!

The Rational Optimist

I heard Ridley on Book TV on CSPAN 2 a few weeks ago and was interested enough to buy his latest book, which I've now finished. He had me hooked after I read the following in the first chapter:

"There are people today who think life was better in the past. They argue that there was not only a simplicity, tranquility, sociability and spirituality about life in the distant past that has been lost, but a virtue too. This rose-tinted nostalgia, please note, is generally confined to the wealthy. ... Imagine that it is 1800, somewhere in Western Europe or eastern North America. The family is gathering around the hearth in the simple timber-framed house. Father reads aloud from the Bible while mother prepares to dish out a stew of beef and onions. The baby boy is being comforted by one of his sisters and the eldest lad is pouring water from the pitcher into the earthenware mugs on the table. His elder sister is feeding the horse in the stable. Outside there is no noise of traffic, there are no drug dealers and neither dioxins nor radioactive fall-out have been found in the cow's milk. All is tranquil; a bird sings outside the window.

"Oh please! Though this is one of the better-off families in the village, father's Scripture reading is interrupted by a bronchitic cough that presages the pneumonia that will kill him at 53 -- not helped by the wood smoke of the fire. (He is lucky: life expectancy even in England was less than 40 in 1800.) The baby will die of the smallpox that is now causing him to cry; his sister will soon be the chattel of a drunken husband. The water the son is pouring tastes of the cows that drink from the brook. Toothache tortures the mother. The neighbour's lodger is getting the other girl pregnant in the hayshed even now and her child will be sent to an orphanage. The stew is grey and gristly yet meat is a rare change from gruel; there is no fruit or salad at this season. It is eaten with a wooden spoon from a wooden bowl. Candles cost too much, so firelight is all there is to see by. Nobody in the family has ever seen a play, painted a picture or heard a piano. School is a few years of dull Latin taught by a bigoted martinet at the vicarage. Father visited the city once, but the travel cost him a week's wages and the others have never travelled more than fifteen miles from home. Each daughter owns two wool dresses, two linen shirts and one pair of shoes. Father's jacket cost him a month's wages but is now infested with lice. The children sleep two to a bed on straw mattresses on the floor. As for the bird outside the window, tomorrow it will be trapped and eaten by the boy."

Ridley makes a pretty good case for why life has gotten better and better at an ever-increasing rate, why the crises that have been continually forecast haven't happened, and why there is reason for optimism that life in the future will be even better. I recommend it.

The Place Redux

Christian and his friend Hyrum and I made it back up to the falls above Anna's again today. A little more water and, of course, beautiful. One of my favorite places.

Waialea Beach

Christian and family came back this weekend for Ian Lindsey's wedding (this morning). The weather wasn't so great yesterday, so we didn't get any hiking in as I'd hoped. We finally got out of the house yesterday late afternoon and spent a couple of hours at the beach. It was so peaceful down by the water.

Looks like a sand cannon ball someone left behind.

'Twas mostly overcast, but finally the sun came out and it was lovely.