• Phantom_Engineer@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    Frankly, that’s a ridiculous scenario. States are an artificial construct. There’s no reason California couldn’t be split into five states so they can get more senators, and there’s no reason tiny east coast states couldn’t be merged together. It’s just a matter of political will. States rights do nothing to benefit the individuals living in those states. Often when we talk about states rights, states are imposing some kind of oppression or restriction on their citizens, abortion being the most recent example. The Supreme Court threw it back to the states, many of which banned it immediately.

    The states don’t matter! They’re overgrown, glorified municipalities. If we are going to redesign the system, we need to reduce their power all together. States are a relic of a colonial system founded by the British, where each colony was individually granted a charter, and a of a constitution written at the same time the Holy Roman Empire was alive.

    What stops ridiculous, punitive laws from being passed? What stops them from being passed now? The courts, for one, and the federal government. Often it’s the states that are trigger happy in committing some kind of mayhem.

    We’ve lived with states for so long that we’ve been gaslit into thinking that their existence is in our best interest. While states might be useful in some form, like in organizing regional infrastructure projects, their power should be diminished, and they are not deserving of house on par with the house of the people.

    Of course, Congress is in need of other dire reforms as well. It should be bigger, for one, and first past the post should be replaced with some kind of alternate system (perhaps California-style jungle primaries?).

    • Seasoned_Greetings@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      I believe the prompt was to reform the constitution, not the system. In case you forgot, or don’t know, the states ratify the constitution. Not the other way around.

      In a perfect world, sure. States need not be framed as rigid individual governments. In a scenario where the fed is overthrown and the states are intact, there’s nothing stopping the states from just saying “nah, we’ll form our own country”.

      Which if that’s you’re goal, I guess sure. The reason Texas hasn’t done that already in the current system is that the federal government is there to stop them and they don’t have the numbers.

      I think your assumption in this thread is that the states already don’t have power, which isn’t even close to true. In the meantime ranting about how states are insignificant kind of comes off as missing the forest for the trees.

      Frankly, that’s a ridiculous scenario

      I will say that the irony of you calling a hypothetical that I made ridiculous, and then immediately presenting a more ridiculous scenario isn’t lost on me. So thanks for that.

      • Phantom_Engineer@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        The prompt just says the revolution was successful and that now it’s time for a new constitution. It’s not even US-specific, so there’s no reason to assume that state governments even exist in the context of the prompt, much less need to approve this new constitution. There’s no need for such niceties if we’re in a world where a revolution has destroyed the old regime in its entirety.