17. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of writing down a list or Bill of Rights?

Some pros of a bill of rights:

A bill of rights would give formal recognition to certain fundamental human rights.

A bill of rights would give further legal protection to certain minorities and the most vulnerable in our society.

A bill of rights would (in theory) protect society from rogue politicians and arbitrary government actions.

A bill of rights would serve as a minimum standard for the formation of laws and the administering of government policies.

A bill of rights would be an image booster for the country vis-à-vis the international community.

Some cons of a bill of rights:

A bill of rights would immediately and continually erode the sovereignty of the legislature.

A bill of rights would politicise the judiciary.

A bill of rights would be undemocratic, by giving unelected judges virtual executive powers and weakening the necessary checks and balances that are fundamental to good governance.

explanation: we can only guess at how our actions may be perceived in the future. doing something really big like killing lots of people, saving lots of people, affecting the lives of lots of people is a sure fire way of being remembered in historical records. we can also make a difference in the history records by being a small influence on something bigger, whether that is as a civil servant, scientist or artist.

of course you could argue that we all affect history just as tiny cogs in a   bigger machine.

if you mean how do people influence our opinions of things which have already happened, then simply by writing a book which looks at things form a different perspective and trying to convince people that this perspective is more accurate or truthful. people do it all the time i.e. richard the third was a terrible or was he? plenty would disagree, it's just that their views aren't the most widely known.n: