Someone supposedly asked Ben Franklin after a meeting of the Founders, "So what type of government have you given us?" Franklin reportedly answered, "A republic ... if you can keep it." The Founders must have known that most governments end up being authoritarian .... so they tried to create as many "checks and balances" as possible to prevent this from happening. This framework largely worked for two or so centuries, but I think the authoritarians are prevailing in the end. I still think the Fourth Estate deserves more blame than even elected officials or even voters. The Founders did make "freedom of speech or the press" the FIRST Amendment to the Constitution, probably realizing that all freedoms and liberties ultimately depend on a genuinely free press/speech. So when the mainstream press was completely captured (by would-be authoritarians), the last great restraint againt authoritarians disappeared.
Someone supposedly asked Ben Franklin after a meeting of the Founders, "So what type of government have you given us?" Franklin reportedly answered, "A republic ... if you can keep it." The Founders must have known that most governments end up being authoritarian .... so they tried to create as many "checks and balances" as possible to prevent this from happening. This framework largely worked for two or so centuries, but I think the authoritarians are prevailing in the end. I still think the Fourth Estate deserves more blame than even elected officials or even voters. The Founders did make "freedom of speech or the press" the FIRST Amendment to the Constitution, probably realizing that all freedoms and liberties ultimately depend on a genuinely free press/speech. So when the mainstream press was completely captured (by would-be authoritarians), the last great restraint againt authoritarians disappeared.