George Washington\'s Farewell Address To the People of the United States Which o

Question

George Washington's Farewell Address To the People of the United States Which of Washington's positions as stated in his Farewell Address do you consider the most important for the country at the time? Then think about today. Which of Washington's positions still has validity for the country and should be implemented or possibly is implemented but in a way different from the way Washington believed? How should the government or people of the nation change in order to keep faith with Washington's vision? Use specific quotes from the speech to support your statements.

Explanation / Answer

It would seem to me that the third amendment would be the only one which was of particular relevance at the time it was written but which has not maintained that relevance in the present day. With the third amendment, the forced sheltering of soldiers in the private homes of citizens was prohibited. Given the long stretch of time that has occurred since an actual war on American soil has taken place (a situation which would necessitate housing soldiers at various random locations throughout the country), it would seem that the third amendment is not of particular relevance at the time, not that such protections will not be useful in the future. With that, I would argue that all of the other amendments have maintained their relevance since their creation. For example, protections against cruel and unusual punishment, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and procedures for criminal proceedings all continue to be important elements of today's society. In my opinion, I would say that the second amendment would be the one which would be in most need of revision or clarification given the manner in which technology has evolved since the writing of the Bill of Rights. At that time, the weaponry that exists in the present day would be simply unimaginable making it hard for me to imagine that the founding fathers would have not at the very least added elements of clarifying language to the second amendment. If I could add an article, it would likely pertain to privacy rights of individuals as it pertains specifically to technology and the government's incursion into the privacy of individuals when using said technology.

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