By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Chief@ComeOnSense.com
www.ComeOnSense.com
We live in dangerous times – dangerous not because of the prevailing wisdom about terrorists and nuclear weapons. The reasons are far more fundamental and far more pervasive than those provincial threats. The very foundations of American society are at risk. The livability of the planet which we call home is at stake. The future of mankind hangs in the balance.
The sentiments expressed in the following pages are not yet sufficiently fashionable to occupy center stage in the great debate over our future. In that sense they are thoughts out of season – or, more properly, thoughts whose season is yet to come. But we are running out of time and our curse may be that their season comes only too late.
How are these two crisis connected and why are their combination such a threat to the continued existence of mankind? How can a crumbling of the foundations of the American Republic play such a central role in determining the future of mankind? And why is time running out? The answer to those questions should frighten every human on the planet. Consider first the American crisis.
Our founding fathers established a form of government based on the rule of law rather than men. Central to their inspiration was the idea – based on their recent experiences – that governments ruled by men were both inherently unstable and have a strong tendency to turn the population in prey to be fed upon by a privileged class. Such has become the case with the current federal government in the United States. If you are hesitant to accept this proposition, consider the following:
- Politicians have been accused of openly flaunting the law but there has been nothing done about it. Recently the Speaker of the House indicated a willingness to hold hearings on possible impeachable offences by the President and high government officials but specifically excluded the possibility of an impeachment effort. The meaning of this is clear. It doesn’t matter to the Speaker if laws were broken except to the extent that they lead to political advantage – a government of men – in this case a women – seeking political advantage.
- Senior members of the administration have radically politicized the Department of Justice – replacing the meritocracy with a system of pure political patronage. As a result, there has been a loyalty test – not loyalty to the law but to the current president and administration – which has been the screen for applicants. This is clearly a violation of law but nothing is being done about it and no one is being held accountable.
- The infamous Bush doctrine of preemptive strikes has been extended to issues such as offering indemnification to telecom executives who have never been accused of a crime and who, according to the administration, have never committed one. This action was supported by a broad bi-partisan coalition in congress – by Democrats as well as Republicans. The exchange of political favors for campaign donations has never been so explicit. And the results are that nothing is being done about I – except, of course, to cash the checks.
- With the possible exception of the Obama campaign, special interest groups and lobbyists represent the primary source of funding for and senior membership in campaigns. From their point of view, we really do have the best government that money can buy. But the realization is starting to set in that their assumption – along with their vision of how government should be controlled and directed – is radically in error. The wheels are starting to fall off and Mr. Madison’s house is teetering on the brink of self-immolation.
- The current administration – emboldened by the passivity of the American citizenry, the impotency of congress, the slowness of the judicial system and past successes – has mounted successful challenges to such fundamental parts of the founders design for our government as habeas corpus and the first and fourth amendments to the US Constitution. Again, their success has been enabled by the passivity and malleability of Americans. Rights are being removed or reduced and nothing is happening as a result.
- The US Congress – once thought to be the most powerful of the branches – has been reduced to a rubber stamp for the executive. It is worth noting that the opposition – Democrats – has been as compliant and complicitous whether they had or didn’t have a majority in both houses. The imperial presidency has been established and the US Congress sits at its feet.
Even these few examples should be sufficient to raise the alarm. The Republic is in danger of being overturned – the rule of law of being replaced by the rule of men.
But why is this so important? Why does this single development portend so gravely for the future of the United States? The reason should be clear. A government of men is insufficient to manage the great engine that society has become. To paraphrase the great environmentalist John Muir, Government is not only more complex than we think; it is more complex than we can think. Government of, by and for the people under the rule of law is the most effective system ever devised to manage that complexity. Without it we are at risk and at the whim of groups of self-interested cabals.
The war in Iraq is a very good example. The miscalculations by this cabal have cost the American taxpayers trillions of dollars – and, lest we forget, future generations of Americans will have to pay off the borrowings that were made to finance that war. Here’s another one. The energy policy of the United States – put together by oil men and their allies in the administration – has put this country far behind the curve in finding alternatives to fossil fuel. A decade of this foolishness has resulted in high profits for the oil companies, fat bonuses for oil company executives, substantial campaign contributions for certain politicians and a massive crisis for the American public. Here is yet another. The infrastructure of the country – roads, bridges, railroads, airports, ports and the like – have been ignored because there was more profit – more payoffs – available in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
If the law is no longer an effective constraint to these cabals, the credit of the American people will continue to be bled away for the interests of members of the cabals. And that process will not stop until the looting of the public treasury is complete. Without the effective rule of law, the citizens have no protection against such looting. And without that protection, America will end up a wasted society – bled dry and cast aside when there is no more to loot.
So what has this crisis to do with the livability of our planet? In the past, America has been the technological leader of the world. Its government – of, by and for the people – has given it a special place in that world. We were seen as the ‘good guys’ by a large percentage of the global population. We were able to provide leadership in important areas – human rights, global financial systems, environmental policy and international organizations to name a few. But now the United States is seen as a bully – a government of thugs parading as cowboys. With that crucial credibility gone we are often relegated to subordinate roles – usually at the rear of the pack – on important issues.
This loss of leadership has occurred at a critical time in the planet’s history. Many chickens are coming home to roost. If global warming was the only one, the situation might be manageable – but it is not. The world financial system is under severe strain. There is a major food crisis looming – food riots are already a regular occurrence in parts of the world. The process of diplomacy – of nations talking out their differences – has been sharply devalued. We are passengers in a speeding car – heading for a very solid wall – and our leaders are arguing about the color of the upholstery and the opportunities for short-term gain.
The idea that we can do anything we want to the planet and it will tolerate and recover from it is absurd. There are limits and, if we are not careful, we will find them – and suffer the consequences.
There is much more at stake in this election cycle than whether a Republican or Democrat next occupies the White House. If the United States doesn’t clean up its act – reestablish the rule of law and begin to play a more collaborative and productive role in the world community – the consequences could be far beyond any of our imaginations.
If America ceases to be a beacon – a demonstration of the rule of law as a more effective way to organize governments – the world will decide that such an experiment was a failure – that our founding fathers simply got it wrong.
If America continues to demonstrate that gain and greed trumps the common good, then the rest of the world will follow our lead and it will descend into an orgy of predators feeding on an increasingly anemic prey population. There is an end to this process – just like there is an end to the availability of fossil fuel. And that end will be disastrous for both predator and prey.
It is time to hurry along that season for the thoughts that can lead us to salvation – and guarantee mankind’s continued existence on the planet. It is time to stop the madness and establish the common sense which should guide us all. It is time for the thoughts out of season.
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Dr. Smith is a political and social theorist who lives in
Georgetown, Washington, DC
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