Government power

The framers of the constitution, after their experiences with the King, were concerned that government would seek the power to rule over the people. So to limit this they added the Bill of Rights, which were designed to reduce the power of elected officials and to protect the rights of the people from such electorates. It is the nature of ambitious people to seek power and thus elected officials must be restrained and thus the purpose of elections. Over the years these elected officials have rigged the system so that they can be re-elected and as a result 95% of incumbents retain their positions. To those who believe the power should be with the government this is acceptable but for others it is not. To combat this, many who fear the power of government, propose such things as term limits but since these must be approved by those in power it is a dead end and thus they have safely secured their place in office. When a person running for office holds up a copy of the constitution and the bill of rights and declares their intention to take back the government from those in power and give the power to the people, they are declared to be radicals or worse, racist. People who want to protect those in power say “states rights” are code words for those who want to bring back Jim Crow. This is a strong argument and usually wins the day. The free press which was designed to protect the people from the government is often used to protect government from such attacks. There are a few dissenting voices but for the most part the press aligns itself with the government. The result is government encroachment into the personal lives of the people.