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Comment by readthenotes1 | Hacker News Reader

That's actually only sorta true.

A genius of the US Constitution is that it states unequivocally that citizens grant rights to their government, not the other way around.

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You just recently had an event that almost overthrew the executive branch. The US Constitution is literally paper thin and the only thing actually protecting it are the institutions and people behind them.

I'm not sure that the events of 2021 were seriously endangering the executive branch or any part of the US government. Yes a riot put lawmakers in physical danger, but if the rioters had actually taken over that building that wouldn't make them the lawmakers. It'd probably make them dead. More concerning was the electors thing, but I reckon the most likely outcome would have been a lawsuit and the tightening of the laws around electors.

If Mike Pence had chosen to go with Trump's delusions, it could've gone very differently.

Agree about the “paper-thin” part, because laws only mean something if they are supported by institutions and people. But I don’t think we can say the executive branch was “almost” overthrown. That’s hyperbole.

Rights are great but who is going to enforce them? If your local sheriff doesn’t believe in said rights good luck suing your way to get them… By the time you get to the appropriate courts it will be years and millions of dollars in legal fees

And that's assuming independent judicial system. Such a precious thing should not be taken for granted.

Which is great de jure, if de facto, unfortunately.

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