主题：【原创】【整理】滑向混乱的美国 -- 联储主席
家园 that's normal Declaration of Independence mostly reflected the vision of liberal Americans, such as Thomas Jefferson.
There are two camps among founding fathers: pro-Republic-elite rule system (such as Franklin, Adams, Hamilton) vs. pro-平民统治 system (such as Thomas Jefferson). The latter was the minority 200 years ago.
George Washington was a smart fence sitter: he watched both sides fighting against each other and stayed as a well-respected impartial balancer in the system. He SELDOM expressed his own political vision.
Constitution is the compromise among all kinds of interests groups (such as the slave-owners in Southern States). Therefore, these two documents are not consistent in philosophy. Not surprising.
兄弟是高才，隔着个大洋就能看透这些文件之间的冲突。本人是在美国图书馆的political science 专著上看到历史学者的说明才醒悟的。
事实是美国一直是个矛盾的国家，一方面代表殖民地的利益追求独立，反对欧洲殖民； 另一方面又是一个大霸权。
deeply in its national soul, there are two different conflicting visions originating from their founding fathers.
The current U.S. history books (high schools, primary schools) gave kids the impression that founding fathers are 铁板一块，bunch of harmonious patriots who fought for welfare/interests of average Americans UNSELFISHLY. The fact is that they were just bunch of large slave owners and landowners who refused to pay taxes to Westminister without their rep. there. They just wanted to be their own masters and control their own fate and wealth.
At the same time, this bunch of people are DEEPLY DIVIDED, and VERY different from each other. They fought with words, persuasion and debates. They changed alliance over time. But 不同于中国的政治精英--动不动就用战争来解决彼此间的差异，分歧，美国的founding fathers 更善于妥协，用各种政治设计-妥协方案-时间的积累来减轻矛盾。
In sum， 斗而不破。
家园 不同于中国的政治精英--动不动就用战争来解决彼此间的差异 家园 Actually, they are experts in redirecting their internal conflicts to external war. After the union, there was Mexico. After they've dominated Mexico, they had a civil war, and then it was a series of expansionistic wars.
I know they are tempted to try it again.
家园 Brad on Tommy's Hypocrisy 
外链图片需谨慎，可能会被源头改Some smart people have figured out what the core value of american society is.
Kill them softly 2012 - This film is based on Geogre Higgins' 1974 crime novel "Cogan's trade".
Here is dialog of the final scene of the movie.
Barack Obama (on TV): ...to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one....
Bard Pitt: Don't make me laugh. One people. It's a myth created by Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson is an American saint. Because he wrote the words all men are created equal, words he clearly didn't believe since he allowed his own children to live in slavery.
He's a rich wine snob who's sick of paying taxes to the brits. So he writes some lovely words and aroused the rabble and they went and died for for those words, while he sat back and drank his wine and fucked his slave girl.
This guy wants to tell me we're living in a community? Don't make me laugh. I'm living in America, and in America you're on your own. America's not a country. It's just a business. So pay me.
家园 Strictly speaking, this is not entirely true. too one-sided.
Another movie is closer to the truth. It is called "There will be Blood".
America is founded on two things: Church and Business. Or more accurately, the lies of churches and the lies of businesses.
家园 中国的问题我认为是统治术和技术的矛盾造成 事实上中国的体制，大概从秦汉之后，就是皇帝居中，文武百官在下面分成几个派系。如果皇权很强，那么基本上就是独裁，如果皇权很弱，那么就只能依靠下面百官的“良心”。当然良心一向不可靠，所以基本上还是依赖皇帝身边的人，或太监，或完成朝廷上的平衡。那么为什么在派系斗争的时候必然会带来滚滚的人头呢？我觉得这其实和美国的特殊性有关，就像您之前说的，美国就是个试验田，大家就是试验这么一个权力共享+对外扩张的体系，所以不血腥，当然还是打了一场内战。同样的，欧洲各国的内斗在18世纪之前也很血腥，但是他们最终学会了妥协。现在中国的最高权力交接好歹不血腥了，也算个进步吧，我担心的还是菁英的问题——全球菁英的问题，因为我之前看某情报公司头子的一个访谈，里头说道他09年还是哪一年参加G20会议的时候，很失望的发现全球的菁英都缺乏责任感，觉得目前的危机完全能够扛过去——说得直白一些就是底层肯定不会造反。当然我也知道目前底层的确没必要造反，因为还能吃到饭，但是再过十年二十年，贫富差距越来越大怎么办？如果到那时候菁英连最底层都开始忽视了，那么会发生什么？这是最可怕的，我们现在好歹还敬畏最底层（尽管如此，底层莫名的杀人已经很多次了），但是欧洲已经可以看到开始对最底层开刀了，切福利是大家一块切，同时美国共和党也不愿意加税。
家园 这是另一个话题了。 不过美国的政体设计是共和而非民主，这点是很重要的。他们现在兜售民主，那是因为他们现在已经是“两只狼”了。
家园 白人我理解为WASP no, Italian, Irish, Polish, Catholic Germanic, Nordic Americans are not WASP Americans.
家园 好像不是，就是non-hispanic white 家园 犹太人算WASP吗？ 家园 WASP stands for White
Anglo-Saxon
Protestant