Read Online A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties by Ben Carson MD, Candy Carson - Free Book Online
Authors: Ben Carson MD, Candy Carson
Tags: nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Retail, Political Science, Politics, Civics & Citizenship, American Government, National, Constitutions
Ads: Link
legislation is bloated with unnecessary pages accommodating special interests.
Many special-interest groups do need accommodation, but their needs should be balanced with the needs of the rest of Americans. This is a concept easily understood in the medical field. Most neurosurgeons wisely focus their careers on remedying the most common problems. Extraordinary cases may arise, but it makes more sense to refer those cases to experts than for all neurosurgeons to try to be prepared forall types of cases. Trying to be an expert in everything results in shallow knowledge and less expertise in every area.
I saw this firsthand in 1987 when I was privileged to lead a medical team in an unusual procedure: an attempt to separate conjoined twins from West Germany. The two were joined at the backs of their heads, and no twins joined in that manner had ever before been separated and both survived. The involved operation required seventy members and twenty-two hours of surgery. The teamwork was impressive and both twins survived. Ten years later I was called upon to lead a team in South Africa in an attempt to separate twins joined at the top of the head. There had been thirteen previous attempts to separate such twins without great success. The conditions were not optimal, but the twenty-eight-hour surgery yielded two neurologically intact boys who will soon be graduating high school.
Because I have expertise in this field, I have been involved in a number of other craniopagus surgeries, though fortunately such medical anomalies are extremely rare. The overwhelming majority of neurosurgeons will never see one in their entire career. For this reason, a great deal of attention is not devoted to studying these kinds of patients. It is not that people are uncaring but rather that practicality dictates a more judicious use of time. It makes a great deal more sense to devote one’s time and resources to the things that are commonly encountered, leaving the care of the extraordinarily rare conditions to a few experts.
This commonsense principle should be applied to legislative matters involving the general population. Laws and regulations should be designed to address normal situations, while providing special mechanisms for the creation ofexceptions in abnormal situations. Changing the law governing the normal situation in order to accommodate the abnormal situation is like requiring that car seats be designed to accommodate conjoined twins as well as anatomically normal children. The more sensible thing would be to require car seats to accommodate typical children and design special car seats for atypical children as needed.
This principle can be applied to a host of situations in our nation. For example, most people are heterosexual, and changing the definition of marriage to suit those outside that definition is unnecessarily complicated. Instead, we should find other ways to accommodate those needing civil unions. If we adhere to common sense, those outside the norm will not feel that they have to change things for everyone else in order to get fair treatment for themselves, and we will experience more tranquillity and tolerance on all sides. The welfare of everyone will be improved.
THE GENERAL WELFARE—NOT JUST OF ONE PARTY
Partisanship is a huge obstacle to fairness. The founders could scarcely have dreamed how bitter the rancor of the eventual two-party system would become. At the time that the Constitution was written, American political parties were in their embryonic stage. Most political figures were focused on what was good for the nation rather than what was good for their political constituency. Unfortunately, that did not last.
Shrewd politicians realized that by making their ideas into an identity with a party label, they could consistently attract voters who were not paying attention to specific issues. Today party politics have reached the point where many peopleconsider allegiance to their party more important
Many special-interest groups do need accommodation, but their needs should be balanced with the needs of the rest of Americans. This is a concept easily understood in the medical field. Most neurosurgeons wisely focus their careers on remedying the most common problems. Extraordinary cases may arise, but it makes more sense to refer those cases to experts than for all neurosurgeons to try to be prepared forall types of cases. Trying to be an expert in everything results in shallow knowledge and less expertise in every area.
I saw this firsthand in 1987 when I was privileged to lead a medical team in an unusual procedure: an attempt to separate conjoined twins from West Germany. The two were joined at the backs of their heads, and no twins joined in that manner had ever before been separated and both survived. The involved operation required seventy members and twenty-two hours of surgery. The teamwork was impressive and both twins survived. Ten years later I was called upon to lead a team in South Africa in an attempt to separate twins joined at the top of the head. There had been thirteen previous attempts to separate such twins without great success. The conditions were not optimal, but the twenty-eight-hour surgery yielded two neurologically intact boys who will soon be graduating high school.
Because I have expertise in this field, I have been involved in a number of other craniopagus surgeries, though fortunately such medical anomalies are extremely rare. The overwhelming majority of neurosurgeons will never see one in their entire career. For this reason, a great deal of attention is not devoted to studying these kinds of patients. It is not that people are uncaring but rather that practicality dictates a more judicious use of time. It makes a great deal more sense to devote one’s time and resources to the things that are commonly encountered, leaving the care of the extraordinarily rare conditions to a few experts.
This commonsense principle should be applied to legislative matters involving the general population. Laws and regulations should be designed to address normal situations, while providing special mechanisms for the creation ofexceptions in abnormal situations. Changing the law governing the normal situation in order to accommodate the abnormal situation is like requiring that car seats be designed to accommodate conjoined twins as well as anatomically normal children. The more sensible thing would be to require car seats to accommodate typical children and design special car seats for atypical children as needed.
This principle can be applied to a host of situations in our nation. For example, most people are heterosexual, and changing the definition of marriage to suit those outside that definition is unnecessarily complicated. Instead, we should find other ways to accommodate those needing civil unions. If we adhere to common sense, those outside the norm will not feel that they have to change things for everyone else in order to get fair treatment for themselves, and we will experience more tranquillity and tolerance on all sides. The welfare of everyone will be improved.
THE GENERAL WELFARE—NOT JUST OF ONE PARTY
Partisanship is a huge obstacle to fairness. The founders could scarcely have dreamed how bitter the rancor of the eventual two-party system would become. At the time that the Constitution was written, American political parties were in their embryonic stage. Most political figures were focused on what was good for the nation rather than what was good for their political constituency. Unfortunately, that did not last.
Shrewd politicians realized that by making their ideas into an identity with a party label, they could consistently attract voters who were not paying attention to specific issues. Today party politics have reached the point where many peopleconsider allegiance to their party more important
Similar Books
