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Introduction: Separation of Powers and National Security
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11912 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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8 / 1987 |
271 Words |
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Two hundred years ago, fifty-five men chosen as delegates from their respective states gathered in the Philadelphia state house: They labored, debated, and strained to create the delicate balance of governmental powers that they hoped would ensure the preservation of a newborn country. Today, that country endures. And we continue to think in terms of divided and balanced powers. The echoes of the debate about where the lines of those powers should be drawn and how they function under specific circumstances remain with us still.
In the current debate, some believe that we must analyze how far executive liberties have strayed from the original intentions of the drafters of the Constitution. Others argue that if the founder were alive today, in a world in which communication, transportation, and weaponry have developed far beyond what they could have imagined, their decisions regarding the powers allocated to each branch of government would be different. Still others declare that the preservation of the Constitution and the nation must be our ultimate concern. If the means developed for that end are outmoded, those means must be reevaluated and reformulated. Original intension must be understood, they say, by studying the ends rather than the means of government.
Presently, in the wake of Irangate, charges are voiced about abuse of executive powers. Complaints also arise against the legislative branch for its selective invocation of the concept of original intention. It is our hope that the articles that follow, representing a broad spectrum of opinion, will be of value to our readers in formulating their own stand on this crucial issue.
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