“…with the stroke of a judicial pen (or five pens), the Roberts Court has reversed a century of regulating campaign contributions, and in so doing, they have given the wealthiest among us more power to influence the outcome of elections than they have ever enjoyed.”
John Marttila: 2012: Seeing the Long Arc of American Democracy Reversed
What do you know about this national landmark? We see photos showing the Statue of Freedom almost every day. Next to our national treasure in New York Harbor, it is the most famous statue in the United States and is probably photographed more than the Statue of Liberty.
“The [bronze] statue is a classical female figure wearing flowing robes. Her right hand rests on the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left hand holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. Her helmet is encircled by stars and features a crest composed of an eagle’s head, feathers, and talons, a reference to the costume of Native Americans. A brooch inscribed “U.S.” secures her fringed robes. She stands on a cast-iron globe encircled with the words E Pluribus Unum, our national motto prior to the motto being changed in 1956. The lower part of the base is decorated with fasces and wreaths. Ten bronze points tipped with platinum are attached to her headdress, shoulders, and shield for protection from lightning….Her crest rises 288 feet above the plaza.
The Statue of Freedom has been on very public display in one of the most visited locations in the United States since its placement there on December 2, 1863.”
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors. ~ Thomas Jefferson – Inscription on the Jefferson Memorial
Of course, my mind went immediately to how far this nation has come (and has yet to go) on marriage equality.
Jefferson, our “barbarous ancestors” and marriage – Jonathan Capehart
America Can Solve the Student Loan Issue
The student loan crisis can be solved, while at the same time providing jobs and improving important parts of our nation’s infrastructure. Instead of students borrowing money for their higher education and having to live in debt for many years after college, America can and should develop work and service programs that enable our young men and women to earn the money required for higher education ‘up front,’ and then pursue their higher education with less financial burden. In the linked article, Adam Levin outlines the basics, and suggests a few of the obvious questions to be answered.
Adam Levin: A National Service Corps Can Solve the Student Loan Crisis
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