Frankly, I was going to post something (vaguely) related to this, but never got around to it. Sunday, when Sam jumped down Dave in Montana's throat, it occurred to me he might have had a bad day. I guess he did.
Anyway, poor Dave went on one of his spiels about the Declaration of Independence, and Sam gave him both barrels about the Constitution not being a document worthy of praise, etc. The problem was, Dave wasn't even talking about the Constitution. Poor Dave couldn't get a word in edgewise, even trying to tell Sam he wasn't defending the constitution, but he did like the Bill of Rights, since Sam brought it up. I just thought Sam was unnecessarily deferential to Dave, who I think would have deserved being treated better even if he had referred to the Constitution, which he did not.
Additionally, Sam continued to conflate the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, two entirely separate documents, with entirely separate advocates in their historic period. If Sam doesn't understand the difference, I hope he gets educated on it, because it was a little embarrassing, especially in context.
Sure, Sam probably had a bad day, but I hope if he gets a chance, he'll apologize to Dave for jumping to conclusions the way he did and talking all over Dave for something he didn't even say, or imply.
With regard to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, for those who don't know, the Declaration of Independence was not necessarily intended to establish any new government. It was meant to defend the separation from the government of the time (the crown.) Maybe some of the adherents intended to establish new government, but it is not clear that any of them would support the Constitution, or (for some) even the Articles of Confederation. In fact, many had the opportunity to support the Constitution, when it was scandalously used to replace the Articles of Confederation, but chose not to. I'm sure there are good authorities on the topic. I originally learned about it in the LeFevre Commentaries (audio) and have since heard many references to it. In short, the Declaration of Independence is rightly considered one of the greatest documents in political history, and for good reason. It has little, if anything, to do with the US Constitution. I was somewhat surprised Wayne didn't step in and point out the problem with Sam's assertion, but perhaps he didn't catch it (I know he knows the difference.)
Now that I've said all that, I want to say that in the balance, Sam's been the best Sunday host, in my opinion, and that none of this diminishes my opinion of him. I just thought it was surprising at the time, and that something should be said about it. Since I haven't seen anything said, I'm saying it now. I hope things get better for Sam.
The Free Talk Live BBS
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Topic: Unofficial History of Drama in the Free State (Read 1316334 times)