SNAFU

Congressman Doyle of Pennsylvania pointed out on television that the gridlock we so often face in the government was designed by our founding fathers. They instituted three branches of government with one branch divided into the House and Senate. Of course it would be difficult to get laws passed. But abuses under Kings and despots who could create law on personal whim was considered an affront to human rights. When our criminal system is criticized for letting guilty people go free, we forget the intention to incorporate the principle that it would be far better to let ten guilty people go free than to wrongly incarcerate one innocent person. These concepts were adopted by leaders observing and chafing under systems that deprived individuals of basic rights. The pendulum has apparently not swung too far in favor of the innocent according to the parade of people released from prison based on exculpating DNA evidence. And we have always had vitriol in our disagreements. Burr killed Hamilton in a duel. We fought a Civil War. We have had assassinations throughout American history. In every era, you can find published accounts of the worst type of personal insults being traded between political rivals. We like to believe a more civil past once existed but that is a fictional nostalgia. Basically the situation is normal and aptly described by the acronym SNAFU.

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