One of the most disastrous unintended consequences of the Bill of Rights springs from the 1st Amendments bar on the establishment of religion. In European countries which have or have had established religions religious belief has withered much more thoroughly than in the USA. Perhaps we should establish a state sponsored Church of the Living God in the USA and let all of the fundamentalists duke it out for control. Then they would be so busy fighting about religion that they would have no time for politics! As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
The effect of state sponsored religion on the non-religious is probably similar to what has happened in Europe. But the combination of state support and benefits, together with a high birthrate, is resulting in a gradual takeover of the country by the fundamentalists (which, like all unsustainable trends, can't go on for ever, but it's anybody's guess at what point it will stop). Do you really want to take the risk that the U.S would be more like Europe?
There is a variety of reasons - most of them very good - that pulling an Atatürk on a modern, reasonably democratic society would be A Bad Idea.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
