Federalist Paper No. 62 - The Senate

As far as our readings are concerned, I find that this particular Federalist Paper seems to have itself fixed within America's political conflicts of today, more so than any other. Believed to be written by Madison, Federalist No. 62 is a critique upon the House model and how the Senate as a solution should be applied under the Constitution. One of his dissents with the house really caught my eye, mostly because of how, ironically, it applies to the Senate today. Madison's argument that, "...mutability in the public councils...[and] continual change even of good measures is inconsistent...with every prospect of success," is very much a truth that haunts our country's stability today. Our nation's leaders are constantly mutable on very large national and international matters, such as war and health care, that have resulted in severely damaging America's reputation internally, and more importantly, externally. The election of new senators and their ever-changing opinions on the War on Terror has taken our country's reputation from a bastion of hope, freedom and prosperity worldwide to that of a power-hungry country concerned with nothing more than the pursuit of land and resources. More internally, Madison's argument that, "It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood," reflects our current universal health care debate with an almost eerie accuracy. The constant chants by the people to their senators to "Read the bill!" at health care rallies, combined with the senators coming on various forms of public media and proclaiming that the bill, like much modern legislation, is just too long and in too many different embodiments to actually read, shows how much mutability has destroyed our credibility. Overall, Americans, and sadly other nations, have lost respect for our government, and it leaves me wondering if Madison's ideal Senate really helped us, "...[possess] a certain portion of order and stability."