Addenda: Would the US be better off with a parlimentary system so that an unpopular head of state could be recalled? Is it remotely conceivable that such a thing could happen?
One fundamental problem that we have with this sort of thing is that the United States doesn't have a distinct head of state and head of government.
Modern monarchies have a monarch as a head of state, and a prime minister as a head of government. Israel, for instance, has president as head of state, and a prime minister as head of government.
We have a president who serves both roles.
Officially, of course, we don't HAVE a head of state at all. If anything, our Constitution fills that role, and that's how I use it.
The problem is that attacking the head of state is attacking the state, and is unpatriotic. Now, theoretically, that shouldn't be a problem in the US, since we don't HAVE a head of state in that sense. But the vast majority of the public treats the president as if he WAS a head of state in that sense, which is why people consider opposition to the president to be unpatriotic.
So, in other words, I think that changing to a parlimetary system wouldn't change the situation, since the ACTUAL problem is the confusion of "state" and "government," and "head of state" and "head of government."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zvi and
no subject
Date: 2005-07-06 05:40 pm (UTC)One fundamental problem that we have with this sort of thing is that the United States doesn't have a distinct head of state and head of government.
Modern monarchies have a monarch as a head of state, and a prime minister as a head of government. Israel, for instance, has president as head of state, and a prime minister as head of government.
We have a president who serves both roles.
Officially, of course, we don't HAVE a head of state at all. If anything, our Constitution fills that role, and that's how I use it.
The problem is that attacking the head of state is attacking the state, and is unpatriotic. Now, theoretically, that shouldn't be a problem in the US, since we don't HAVE a head of state in that sense. But the vast majority of the public treats the president as if he WAS a head of state in that sense, which is why people consider opposition to the president to be unpatriotic.
So, in other words, I think that changing to a parlimetary system wouldn't change the situation, since the ACTUAL problem is the confusion of "state" and "government," and "head of state" and "head of government."