Abraham Lincoln: “At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
The Founding fathers had four main fears: corruption, slavery, religion, mobs. Unfortunately, we have seen all four brought to life in recent years
CORRUPTION was the Founders’ number one fear. The word “CORRUPTION” appears in Madison’s incomplete notes 54 times in the 110 day Convention. The Founders desired a “virtuous” republic, where the natural impulses of men were limited by government structures; hoped to inspire “virtuous” men to run for office.
SLAVERY – in modern form, racism, has been a devastating “original sin” for America. Unscrupulous politicians have often used it as a “divide-and-conquer” strategy. Unfortunately, that has often worked.
That they would be forced to obey a RELIGION they didn’t support was a major concern. We have numerous quoters by Founders expressing this deep fear. For definitive documentation of these fears, please research 1776-1800 state constitutions. My favorite is the 1776 North Carolina , Articles XXXIV [“..on any pretense whatsoever..”]
MOBS. The Founders planned a democratic republic that operated on REASON. Thus, freedom of speech, press, petition, assembly – citizens would talk among themselves. Free public schools and libraries.
John Adams: “The declaration that our People are hostile to a government made by themselves, for themselves, and conducted by themselves, is an insult.”
From 2010 forward, America faces an increasing crisis of many things combining, not the least is confidence in itself. Historians Suzanne Mettler and Robert Lieberman’s “FOUR THREATS’ discusses the crisis in historical context. A significant problem is that never before has America faced all FOUR THREATS simultaneously – now we do.
The FOUR THREATS; POLITICAL POLARIZATION, WHO BELONGS?, ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, EXECUTIVE AGGRANDIZEMENT.
Independent watchdog “Freedom House” downgraded the United States from #31 to #51 for backsliding on democratic fitness qualities. “The Economist” said America had declined from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy” by 2017.
WHY? For perspective, research the “14 characteristics of fascism.” Think very hard, how much and on how many of those 14 do you find evidence of American descent to a “flawed democracy” or, worse, already there?
Mettler and Lieberman: the four key attributes of democracy: free and fair elections, the rule of law, the legitimacy of the opposition, and the integrity of rights.
Recently, elections are becoming less free and fair [“dark money,” misinformation, foreign meddling]. For some, public office has become a chance for wealth. Basic rights have been challenged. Increasing “us-them” polarization.
Mettler and Lieberman are NOT alone in concern. Democracy is fragile. Laws, rules, norms only go so far. People, in and out of government, have to WANT to operate in “democratic” ways.
Recently, America has witnessed what can happen when one person, with the help of “enablers,” decides they don’t want to play by the rules/norms/expectations. Result? CORRUPTION.
For confirmation and perspective, consult truth-telling publications like “Mother Jones” and “The Atlantic”; listen to what our foreign friends say; read and THINK. Ask uncomfortable questions.
WHY do the “happiest people on earth” live in Scandinavia? WHY is America less fair to ordinary people, like it was 1947-1973? Political conduct in Congress changed after the 1994 election – WHY and WHO was responsible? Find unspun IRS-GAO-CBO statistics on American income distribution, pre-1980, versus, post-1980.
A number of books on CORRUPTION exist To understand 202X America, you MUST read at least one. 2022 America is NOT an accident – that is the first thing you need to dispel.
“American Kleptocracy” “Kleptopia”. “On Corruption in America”. “Corruption in America”. “Dark Money”
“Shadow Network” “The One Percent Solution” “Democracy in Chains” “How Democracies Die”
Key books on ECONOMIC INEQUALITY:
‘TheSpirit Level”. “Divided the Perils of Our Growing Inequality”. “The Price of Inequality” “Big Box Swindle”
“Capital in the Twenty-First Century” “Fulfillment Winning and Losing in One-Click America”
POLARIZATION Sorry, but all EVIDENCE points to one segment/party creating this for economic/political gain since the 1980s, if not 1960s.
“Evil Geniuses”. “Broken Government” “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks”. “Authoritarian Nightmare”
“Twilight of Democracy”. “American Nightmare” “The Fascism This Time” “American Fascists”
“It Was All A Lie”
SO – what are. YOU. going to do? Do. YOU. care about what happens to America? Is a country where “only” a high school grad a MORAL society??? How can “we” allow an economy where 2/3 of the people have an excellent chance to struggle or fail??? If the “most important person in the world,” the American president, makes $400,000 – why does ANYBODY make $l million, let alone $1 billion?
1947-1973, America reached close to a perfect “middle class” society. WHY did “we” allow that to be stolen from us??? WHO did the theft? Answers from these:
– Don Barlett & James Steele”s “The Betrayal of the American Dream” [double Pulitzer Prize winners]
– Hedrick Smith’s “Who Stole the American Dream?” [Pulitzer Prize winner]
– Charles Lewis, Bill Allison, Center for Public Integrity”s “The Cheating of America”
Teddy Roosevelt: “We, here in America, hold in our hands the hope of the world, the fate of the coming years; and shame and disgrace will be ours if in our eyes the light of high resolve is dimmed, if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of men.”
SO – will we “die by suicide”??? Will we insult ourselves by trashing OUR own government? Will we “trail in the dust the golden hopes of men”??? Will “we” continue to listen to media morons, internet idiots, greedy kleptocrats posing as “saviors”??? Have “we” learned. ANYTHING. from our parents, schools, churches???
“Freedom”. isn’t free. YOU have to WANT it. Not just for yourself, but all 331 million of “us.”
With Justice For All 