: During my service to the US Congress I was involved in drafting and/or
: analyzing several thousand pieces of legislation that effected and
: (hopefully) helped to advance the cause of social evolution.
:
: I could name more than a few pieces of legislation I helped to
: formulate but it would be quite meaningless in the overall context
: of our continuing social evolution.
Well, did you have a favorite? Can you tell us what general area
was your specialty, if any? Can you, in short, tell us *anything*
more than simply inviting us to take it on faith that acts of
the legislature are, on balance, beneficial by definition?
[...]
: Almost all of the public is quite unaware of how the legislative process
: actually works. Among the many things I'm still learning is that any
: relationship between political science as taught in most colleges and
: universities and governmental administration as it actually functions
: and transpires is purely coincidental.
We know that; we've seen "Yes Minister". :-/
: Civics, as taught in almost all secondary schools is, at best,
: horribly superficial and frequently misguided. [...]
Well, of course. The purpose of such "teaching" is to train
obedient subjects to keep up the democratic rituals, no more.
: During my current work with the NYS legislature, I frequently focus on
: consumer protection legislation as an example in point. But, most of my
: modifications to the general business law, the general obligations law,
: etc., receive scant public notice.
The folks who buy such legislation are probably content with the amount
of public notice it doesn't get. ;)
: Since the focus of this discussion is supposed to be on the philosophy
: of advancing humanity through various means I dont see any point in being
: any more specific. My purpose in this academic exchange is to expand my
: horizons by learning as well as expressing my experiential views.
:
: I trust that you will all respect that.
Well, okay, but if you're not going to be any more specific,
the anarchists among us (what, here?) will just have to assume
that when you talk vaguely about the benefits of interventionist
legislation, you're either a naive pawn, or a wannabe-politician
rehearsing the time-honored fraudulent platitudes.
Anton Sherwood *\\* +1 415 267 0685 *\\* DASher@netcom.com