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There is absolutely no doubt that the United States is currently in a state of crisis. I will continue here with that as a given. The question which continues to plague the minds of so many patriots is, simply put, can this Republic continue to operate in its current mode of being? |
In other words, can the United States continue to exist? My rather disturbing conclusion? In a word, no. Let me explain.
The federal government of the United States was established as a Constitutional Republic, with a certain set of commonly agreed upon foundational principles on which the system depends. In the past, these principles have served to provide the connective tissue that has held a geographically dispersed and diverse set of states together under what is often referred to as the "Madisonian model" of governance (as is found described in Federalist #10).
The Republic requires a certain number of core mechanisms, among them equal justice under law and assurances that the consent of the governed will be maintained. The country's foundation is now showing stress fractures the likes of which we have never seen before, cracks that would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago.
Let's consider a few of these.
Issue One. At the center of Madison's thinking -- and indeed central in the thinking of a good many of the Founders -- is the recognition of an objective, divinely provided moral code to which men are subject.
The liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights are sacrosanct precisely because they are given to us by God, who acts as the ultimate governmental authority and arbiter. In today's "progressive" thinking, this makes little to no sense. We are no longer to speak of liberties, we are to speak about democracy. Why?
Because liberties (the freedom to express ourselves, to form associations, to worship as we see fit, to bear arms for the ultimate protection against the activities of a tyrannical government) exist beyond the control of men. In contrast, "democracy" is all about seeing to the will of the majority. Benjamin Franklin had it exactly right when he said
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what they are going to have for lunch."
In Federalist #10, Madison makes reference to this idea as "superior force of an interested and overbearing majority." The renowned French political writer Alexis de Tocqueville offered his thinking on the matter, saying...
"I regard as impious and detestable the maxim that in matters of government the majority of a people has the right to do everything."
Today, very few Americans seem to wish to acknowledge the fact that one of the most important protections provided to us by our Constitution is the protection of the minority from the whims of the majority.
Issue Two. The idea that the law applies equally to every citizen has now gone missing. The blindfold worn by Lady Justice -- meant to provide a visual reminder that the law should never be used by one group as a blunt instrument to attack another group -- that blindfold has slipped from her eyes.
Sadly, we now find ourselves in a situation where the very institutions we have depended on in the past to ensure that justice and an even playing field are maintained, these institutions are the very ones that have their thumbs on the scales of justice, tipping it in favor of actors now recognized as the "Deep State."
In the past few decades, we have been creeping ever closer towards the ideals of the banana republic. Sadly, we have arrived: our FBI and DOJ now believe themselves the arbiters of truth and "proper" political thinking, with conservative views being reviled and subject to suppression and attack.
Issue Three. A complete split in the realities that people subscribe to. Thanks to a corrupt media system which no longer takes its responsibilities to journalism very seriously, people are being forced to choose between buying into a rather corrosive narrative presented to them by the mainstream media (CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post) or seeking alternative sources of information, in what is lovingly referred to as the "new" media space (with folks like Dan Bongino, John Solomon, Ben Shapiro, et al).
Issue Four. There's a rise of pure, in-your-face, tyrannical, socialistic ideas, and the accompanying suppression of ideas that run contrary to those views. The Covid outbreak served to bring this issue front and center: all of a sudden we were being told that we mustn't indulge in in-person meetings (whether for school, for work, or for worship), that we must wear a mask when out in public (despite evidence indicating that the wearing of a mask serves no real health benefit), and that we must subject ourselves to an experimental "vaccine" (which has been shown to be anything but effective at preventing one from contracting and/or spreading the disease).
The polarizing effect that this has had on our society is concerning, to say the least. It is this fourth issue that forms the crux of the problem. It is particularly disconcerting for those of us wishing to live in a free and just society that we are now seeing just how easily our freedoms can slowly be stripped away from us via a constant barrage of patently false talking points.
Which brings us to the bottom line: The two factions in question -- those who wish to dictate "proper" thinking (on everything from energy policy to the foods we eat to the scientific facts we are allowed to consider), and those who wish to live and work freely, within a framework of liberties guaranteed to them under the Constitution of the United States -- these two camps simply cannot co-exist under the same governmental roof.
There is no way that a state like Florida is going to put up with mandated policies, just as there is no way that a state like California is going to allow people the freedom to make their own decisions on things.
The reason for my pessimism is not that we hold different views, it is that those views appear to be fundamentally and irreconcilably at odds with one another. Let’s call these views two different countries: the Constitutional States of America, and the Socialistic States of America. Constitutionalists don't want to live under socialist control, any more than socialists want to live with restrictions placed on their power via the Constitution.
That in a nutshell is the bottom line.
A remark from General Flynn recently:
"It's probably taken fifty years to get here, in this position that we're in. And it's a very, it's a position that is teetering on the precipice of our demise, where we, the entire nation could fall into the abyss of history."
I hope and pray that I am wrong in my thinking, or that I have failed to consider some key piece of the puzzle. I do not wish to see our house divided, because as scripture tells us, such a house cannot stand.
That being said, Thomas Jefferson was absolutely correct when he penned in our Declaration of Independence that...
"whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness... it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
We find ourselves at some cross-roads, where we must answer very important questions about who we are and how we are to be governed. For both sides, it is time to dig deep, to answer honestly, and to shape the future boldly and unapologetically.
For me, that answer lies in Article V of our Constitution. Where we the people, acting through our state legislators, can call a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution that can begin to turn the ship on our current trajectory and set us on a course that, God willing, will save us from tyranny.
God bless America
