Quote:
|
Originally Posted by mag
I'm sorry, but this just seems like a monumentally bad idea to me. It's not that I'm against immigrants or anything. In fact, I'm probably more liberal than most in that regard. I think that non-Americans probably should have more of a say in how America is run since the US, unlike any other country on the planet, has such a major effect on the rest of the world. I don't know how the details of that would be worked out, but I think it would be good if they at least had some say.
That said, I don't think people who weren't born in America should be eligible for president. I realize that Schwarzenegger is who they have specifically in mind, but you also have to think about how such an amendment might be used in the future. Just think. If this amendment had happened say 50 years ago we might be looking at President bin Laden. After all, the 9/11 terrorists lived just like any other American. They blended into society. Nobody noticed them, even when they learned how to fly without learning how to land. Now we're talking about opening up the highest office in the land to such people. All you really need to completely sabotage the entire nation is somebody who's willing to lay low for 20 years. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I don't like giving those kind of people that kind of opportunity. I want whoever is president of the United States to have a vested interest in making sure the United States turns out okay.
mag
|
My post was firmly tongue in cheek.
But to answer a few of your points, personally I don't want to have a say in how america is run, I just want an equal say on how the whole world is run. We already have something set up to help do that - the UN. All we need is for it to be given some proper power and respect.
Secondly, for a country made almost entirely of immigrants of one kind or another it does seem a little strange to me that you have to be born there to become president. I'd have thought that any citizen of the US has a vested interest in it's future, and should have a right to represent the people. And I honestly can't see an international terrorist duping people and taking the white house. The idea that immigrant citizens shouldn't be allowed to be President in the name of "national security" not only makes me laugh, but scares me that it can be even seriously considered. Even if you do consider that to be remotely possible, consider this - there are already alot of american citizens who are entitled to stand for president yet are members of extreme organisations like the KKK. Expanding the entitlement to citizens not born in the US is not going to have much effect in that respect.
But I can see something of what you're talking about - Presidential power is very great indeed, so you need to ensure you have good people getting the job - I'd perhaps be a little paranoid if I lived under the worry of hoe to deal with a dodgy president. Personally I'm against the presidential style government. I don't like them; presidents have an almost unopposed absolute form of power, and the only way you can get rid of them is via an election or the legal process. You only need a small majority (or in the US case not even that) to win an extraordinary amount of power. Granted the US has some very good checks and balances in place, but in the end it is still 1 man with alot of power and resonsibility. I prefer our system, where a prime minister is only an MP who can be got rid of by the rest of parliament whenever they feel like it. Even better, an election can be called and conducted in 4 weeks. It may not be perfect, but at least the power is shared by 600+ people and not 1, and if those 600 people can't form a simple majority the other 60million people automatically have their say.
