What is the role of Government in today's America?

Personally, I am fascinated by C-SPAN’s coverage of both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate whenever those legislative bodies are in session. I’ve spoken to a number of people about it and I find that I’m one of the very few who can watch the proceedings for any length of time without dying of boredom, turning off the television or screaming at both parties to get their acts together and do what is best for America and Americans. When I discuss the House and the Senate with my friends or others, the biggest complaints that I hear are that the proceedings have no meaning because nothing will get done while the cameras are on or that it’s impossible to know what they’re doing because the process is so arcane that you’d have to be a politician in order to figure out what they’re discussing in the first place. This is all before we go into the legalese that must be interpreted by the Supreme Court. 

I’ve thought on this information for some time. America elects 535 men and women of various races, religions and life experiences (in some cases) to discuss, debate and codify laws that you and I must live by. Some people feel these laws are overreach into the personal lives of Americans, stripping away the basic freedoms that our country is founded upon; others  feel that these laws don’t go nearly far as they should and that they do not address specific situations that arise over the years. Then you have the Supreme Court, a group of appointed officials tasked with interpreting the laws that Congress creates to make sure that they are Constitutional and can be (mostly) understood by the public.

Lastly you have the President of the United States who will sign or veto these laws and who has the ability to appoint judges to the Supreme.

The sheer number of laws desired by the residents of our fifty states, their legislatures and the like leads me to the question I pose today: What is the role of the government in the lives of the American people?

The Constitution seemingly implies that the Founders sought a limited government that only provided for the defense of its citizens, establish diplomatic relations with other nations and set down the rules for commerce between each state. Conservatives argue that the Constitution is working as intended and that the federal government has no ability or authority to force Americans to purchase products or engage in any behaviors that they deem illegal or immoral. They also argue that the Constitution should be interpreted strictly as written and that amendments are the only way to make changes. Amending the Constitution is very difficult but that was the Framers’ intent when creating it. Furthermore, each state is different and should be allowed the maximum ability to research, create and amend laws that work for that state without the federal government’s involvement. 

Liberals argue that the problems of today cannot be solved solely through the eyes of men who lived 200-plus years ago. They argue that the Constitution is a “living” document that must interpreted based on the times we live in and that to do anything less produces laws that have little or no bearing on the times we live in. States’ rights are not as important as protecting all of America’s citizens; what happens if a state passes a law or creates a program that injures its citizens? Should the federal government stay out of matters and hope that the problem corrects itself? What happens to the people who suffer in the meantime? These arguments are usually linked with education, immigration, civil rights, and health care, but apply in many others.

Federal, state and local governments can always be more efficient and responsive to the needs of its constituents but many of the situations I’ve named above blur the line as to who should be responsible for their implementation and upkeep.

Now I open the question to you, Readers:

What is the role of the Federal Government in American society?