I don’t think the problem is that the government “wasn’t the best ever,” I think it’s that it hasn’t changed. And the US hasn’t done a lot to enforce some of the groundwork beliefs of the framers.
I still think the idea and balance of power of the US government is one of the best—but it was created to change with the times and address practical flaws (amendments) and hasn’t.
The problem is that they’re still largely perceived as being the best ever. The American founding fathers are pretty much deified, and it’s still expected that important policy decisions will be made based on what these centuries-dead aristocrats thought rather than based on what’s needed in the here and now. Other countries don’t do this. I’ve never in my life heard a politician try to attack or defend a position based on what John A. Macdonald would have thought of it, but in the USA that sort of thing happens all the time.
I don’t think the problem is that the government “wasn’t the best ever,” I think it’s that it hasn’t changed. And the US hasn’t done a lot to enforce some of the groundwork beliefs of the framers.
I still think the idea and balance of power of the US government is one of the best—but it was created to change with the times and address practical flaws (amendments) and hasn’t.
The problem is that they’re still largely perceived as being the best ever. The American founding fathers are pretty much deified, and it’s still expected that important policy decisions will be made based on what these centuries-dead aristocrats thought rather than based on what’s needed in the here and now. Other countries don’t do this. I’ve never in my life heard a politician try to attack or defend a position based on what John A. Macdonald would have thought of it, but in the USA that sort of thing happens all the time.