Quote of the Day - 03/29/2012

I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors. - Thomas Jefferson

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This quote is on the wall of the Jefferson Memorial. It reminds that us the founding fathers - and Jefferson in particular - realized that ‘with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times’ and they built a system that included a balance of power across three branches of government to allow that to happen. Over the course of US history, there have been a lot of changes and the system has sometimes worked better than others. One thing we know in our government as well as our personal lives: we can’t ever turn back the clock to an earlier time and start over. Decisions to change - or not change - can only impact the present and future.

Today - note news items that document our continuing struggle to achieve ‘laws and institutions…hand in hand with progress of the human mind.’