OPINION:
Richard Rahn’s proposal to rewrite the U.S. Constitution to more closely match that of Switzerland is a case of solving a problem that does not exist (“Collective presidency would reduce risk of misgovernance,” web, Feb. 12).
Mr. Rahn suggests that the Swiss system of government is better because the Swiss have avoided involvement in war for almost two centuries. What does he suppose would have happened to Switzerland had Germany won one or both of the world wars? Would the Swiss have been able to continue avoiding involvement in that scenario? It’s doubtful, unless they had surrendered to the Germans and allowed themselves to be incorporated into the Third Reich or the Weimar Republic.
The Swiss, along with the rest of the world, need to thank the U.S. and our allies for being allowed to continue their own form of government. They’ve only been able to do so, after all, because of the sacrifices we and our allies have made.
Rather than imitating the Swiss, what we need is for our own legislative branch to stop allowing the overreach of the executive branch and the judiciary, and to return to functioning as the Constitution describes.
DENNIS CALDWELL
Boynton Beach, Florida
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