What makes a country great?

What makes a country great? Oct 11, 2018 4:04:24 GMT

Quote

Post by gameboy on Oct 11, 2018 4:04:24 GMT

Oct 10, 2018 20:32:56 GMT goz said:

Oct 10, 2018 6:45:53 GMT gameboy said:

This is a no brainer. It's law as founded in the Bill of Rights. The U.S. is the only country which has enshrined individual rights as clearly as was done in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

I have to agree with you however with a few provisos.
1. The United States constitution could and should be more flexible, not in absolute rights like human rights butt in updating to suit a modern society. Of course I am speaking about gun laws which are archaic and only suited to a rural establishing society and not one where everyone lives on top of each other and is multiracial plural with unequal opportunity due to poverty.
2. Whilst the US has these rights enshrined it has only laid down the foundations for a 'happier' society, yet that is currently NOT the case. US needs a better political system to back up its great Constitutional system.
3.

The U.S. is the only country which has enshrined individual rights as clearly as was done in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

I am not actually certain this is strictly true, however you might be interested to now that a cousin of mine Geoffrey Robertson QC has written a book entitled 'The Statute of Liberty - how Australians can take back their rights', advocating a similar course for Australia in following the American lead in this department.

The beauty of the American Constitution is that it can be interpreted by the courts to suit the times. That's why abortion was legalized. It was interpreted as a right to privacy of a woman's body guaranteed in the 4th Amendment. When the 4th Amendment was written in the 18th century no one would have argued it legalized abortion. Yet because our courts can change constitutional interpretation to suit our modern times, it's a guaranteed right of women now.

I admire British law and it is the foundation of the American system. When the Bill of Rights was written in the 18th century, no other country had such provisions for individual freedom. Other nations have followed suit. But it was a revolutionary idea which originated with the U.S. Constitution. I really see the former British Empire, including the U.S. and Australia et al, as the most progressive and free society which has ever existed on the face of the earth. Kudos to the English-speaking world!