Eric Wilson - 2013
We narrowly avoided the fiscal cliff. Our nation’s credit rating still hangs in the balance. We continue to face economic catastrophe with a looming debate on the debt ceiling. There have been a record number of regulations enacted at the end of December – the full implications of which we still have yet to see. This is all in addition to the gun crisis and…I am not sure but…is there still a “war on women?” Welcome to the 21st-century of politics, where statesmanship and governance are quaint historical concepts and politics is all there is.
We narrowly avoided the fiscal cliff. Our nation’s credit rating still hangs in the balance. We continue to face economic catastrophe with a looming debate on the debt ceiling. There have been a record number of regulations enacted at the end of December – the full implications of which we still have yet to see. This is all in addition to the gun crisis and…I am not sure but…is there still a “war on women?” Welcome to the 21st-century of politics, where statesmanship and governance are quaint historical concepts and politics is all there is.
Governance today is tilting at windmills, creating a boogeyman, pitting one side against another, and manufacturing an enemy for you to attack. Parties now run full-time – not just during elections – and the status quo is constantly playing politics. Reflection, wisdom, principles, and ideals – these are things of a far-distant past.
Today, the parties are as active between campaigns as during them, so mudslinging, name-calling, scandal-searching, and ad hominem attacks never stop. The goal today is not to “fix” a problem but to “fixate” you on a problem. The media follows the same pattern – treating daily news like a campaign rather than anything that resembles journalism. This feeds society till we are only left with one type of person and reactions.
Historically and psychologically, you can generally find two camps of people. Examining the two extremes, first are short term pragmatists doing whatever it takes to fix a crisis. These people are usually reactionary and desire more rapid or precipitous change and their objectives is an immediate modification of policy or replacing entire existing structures. In the other camp is what Oliver DeMille called principled realism in his book “The Coming Aristocracy.” These individuals represent the most idealist views and generally engage in a certain level of utopian thought. Their focus is not necessarily what is currently happening but promotion of change for future states.
Ideally, what occurs is a healthy balance of these two extremes, and governance is principled and considered. When “real” immediate problems occur, the short term pragmatism will kick in and do what it takes to solve the emergency. Then when the crisis ended and normalcy returned, what you would see would be a shift from short term pragmatism back to the principled realism.
By contrast, today the crises intentionally never end and neither does the campaigning. Not a far stretch to label government but we are perpetually abnormal. Instead of winning the campaign and then settling down to governing with principled realism, the status quo never stops creating a crisis and running for office. What has replaced principled realism is a permanent campaign.
We have followed suit and become a society of crisis pragmatists looking (no begging) to be saved. Everybody wants to be rescued, and few any longer have faith in long term principled realism. We have been caught in a trap of either expecting someone else to fix things or accepting the vision they provide for us. Our power, authority, ability, and obligation do not come from those politicians (or parties) we put into office but are usurped by individuals who choose to lead.
We continue to look at others as the solution, look up to politicians as rock stars, and celebrate
We have had an energy crisis, an economic crisis, a housing crisis, a war on terror, a war on drugs, and the solution is always the same thing – government.
The truth is quite the opposite. The more severe the crisis, the more we need a return to principles. Short term pragmatism may hopefully fix a current crisis, but unless a new generation of principled realism arises, the crisis will continue to mount – and the cycle will never be broken. Unless we have independent critical thinking we will never have liberty.
If we truly revere the founding fathers and celebrate what they have done, we must move beyond hero worship and being Constitutional groupies and actually do as the founders did. We need to stop looking at parties and start looking to principles. We need to stop being caught up in the trap of left versus right and begin to think and act independently. We need to look less urgently on the manufactured crises used to distract us and more on the realities we face. We need people of principled realism and a society of critical thinking. New leadership – self-sacrificing, self-reliant, self-educated, leadership of the character, competence and quality of the founding generation – is needed of today’s American citizens.
The question is: do Americans value our freedom enough to end the rise of the aristocracy by becoming self-governing leaders ourselves? Will we rise as Jefferson predicted, to be the natural aristocracy over which no despot could rule? Will we step up to our responsibilities as citizens and claim our role as the overseers of government (not the other way around)?
If the current growth of the American aristocracy (including the political parties) is allowed to continue, our future is destined to be less free. While the criticism of socialism is certainly understood and concerning, unless we change our mindset and change our larger course, the aristocracy that our children and our children’s children inherit will be something far worse.
