We The People ... I A Person

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” – James Madison

Yes, that time is once again upon us, when every four years we have to choose a President for the good old U S of A, from the leftovers the two major parties push upon us. Of course, usually that means choosing the least of two evils. And yes, politics is not usually what we go into here, so we won’t get too heavy into it, just explore it from a more philosophical point of view … and see if we can relate it to how that can affect our own spiritual potential.

Actually, I have many times enjoyed discussing the intellectual theories of government, but I absolutely hate politics. I know, they are difficult to separate from each other. Too bad. In college I started out as a government major, minoring in economics. I remember that one of my term papers was about trying to match up the best economic system with the best legal system. That was an intriguing exercise, and required a lot of research on my part. Of course, there was no Internet back in those dark ages, so hitting the library late at night for long hours was absolutely required. I learned a few things. Such as, oftentimes government was not the solution, but the problem. Disheartening. Not sure Madison knew what he was talking about in all his governmental theories, except maybe the part about men not being angels (other than I think they may have that potential). Because as much as the Founding Fathers preached about small government, it seemed maybe even they relied on it (bigger government) too much.

Anyway, I eventually changed my major to philosophy, then to psychology, and finally to English. And struggling into a career as a writer. Yes, it is so much easier creating fictional characters and situations than dealing with real people with real problems. Of course, to be a decent writer you really need to understand people. I do think I learned that fairly well over the years, and because so, my writing has gradually improved. Okay, back to the topic at hand.

First, just a little bit of wisdom (I think?) from my observations of political activity over the years. Which begs the question, does a coin have heads or tails on it? No, you can’t choose both. You only get one choice. Yes, one political party chooses heads and the other tails. And guess what, they are both right, and wrong … at the same time! Sound familiar? So goes the world of politics. For it is not about solving pragmatic problems for the people in a common sense way, but all about trying to convince you (the people) that their half of the illusion is THE TRUTH! And to buy into their half-baked vision (at the very best) of their future. Just elect them to power to ‘serve’ We The People? Ha … ever feel that WE are what is being served up?

There is a wise guy I know, who once told me (as well as quite a few others) that you need at least three views of something to get a decent idea of what it looks like. But even more views would be better, like maybe five or six? So, it’s actually possible that if each major political party only has one view, that they hardly know what anything actually looks like. If they each looked at each other, and then maybe looked at a third view, they might gain a bit of wisdom and possibly come up with some true lasting solutions. But no, they have an ideology to sell and their ideological positions are so entrenched, no way Jose!

For example, let’s take one of many issues where I think both parties can be wrong, and just look at it briefly. It has seemed for a while now that the Republican party has been trying to instill religion into government. Where that started and why that has happened I am not quite sure. But then on the other side, the Democratic Party, has also for a while been trying to make government our religion. And that also makes no real sense at all. So what are they both trying to accomplish? One wants to move us towards a Theocracy and the other towards Communism? Yes, yes, I know these are just surface remarks, but it’s just a simple illustration that beyond the two main points of views or positions we are always subject to are not all that is out there. There can be others. Sometimes, third parties attempt to stake out that territory. But isn’t it possible that there is a fourth and fifth view, or even a sixth and seventh view? But we hardly ever get to hear about those views, do we? Why is that?

I think, feel, believe, that what is truly destroying government today is ideological intransigency. It’s a bit like someone claiming that only their religion has the answers. So now, only their political party has the answers. I say, let’s get ideology out of government. That is what is gumming up the works (IMHO), and preventing it from working. In studying what the Founders were trying to do with the Constitution, ideology was pretty far from their goal. However, in saying that, I must briefly mention how this two-party system got started. For those who don’t know, when Jefferson & Madison broke with Washington & Hamilton, beginning with somewhere in Washington’s second term, the roots for that two-party system began.

Later, Washington warned that this could break apart the system. Well, 225 years later, that may actually be happening. However, this process has been going on for a while now. I think he was probably right, but I also believe that Jefferson and Madison, at the time, thought they were doing the right thing. But if they were to look at it now, I’m not sure they would believe that. There are obviously lots of complex issues that could be discussed here about all of that, but I don’t think this is the time or place for it. If you really want to know about this, there are plenty of books to research.

Another problem, part of a theory I have been hatching for a while, is what type of government we really think we have. I bet nowadays most people would say that the USA we created is a democracy. Wrong. No, the Founders very specifically were creating a Republic. On one level you might say we are splitting hairs, but in another there are some discernable differences. I have posted a video to illustrate what I am saying. In some ways it is a bit simplistic, but it does lay it out fairly well. And plus, I don’t want to spend pages trying to explain it all here.

You can either go here to watch this video — http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment/ or below:

But this is only one part of my theory. While I think that we have been moving away from a Republic and towards more of a Democracy for a while, I also think we have simultaneously been moving the other way, towards a more fascist setup. I know that seems like a paradoxical statement, but like the analogy I made with the coin earlier, I am making the same type of point here.

When I studied government in college, one of the areas I focused on was particular Presidential administrations. It was certainly too difficult to study them all in depth, but it was also very enlightening to see where and how things could go haywire. Well, books have been written about all that, and I could go on forever about it. Anyway, moving on …

Exactly 100 years ago in 1912, ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, having much earlier rejected the Democratic Party, also eventually rejected the Republican Party. That was when he made his famous third party bid. He had been the last President to fight both sides of the power spectrum; Big Government and Big Business. He saw that one party was controlled by one, and the other by the other, and he felt he had to do something about it. Unfortunately he failed, taking only six states, and allowing Woodrow Wilson to begin this past 100-year march towards Democracy. This election also emboldened both sides (Pro-Big Business & Pro-Big Government), and both have grown by leaps and bounds ever since. No President since has taken up that noble call. Most have gone with one or the other, or made deals with both. As we the people, the President’s employer, sit on the sidelines … out of the game.

However, there are (were?) positive sides to both. The original tenets of Conservatism were: Personal Responsibility, Limited Government, Low Taxes. The original tenets of Liberalism were: Individual Liberties, Limited Government, Economic Freedom. Hey I can go with all that.  But, uh … don’t they sound similar? Well, they may have started from similar parents, but over the years these two offsprings have both gradually grown apart, until they are polar opposites. How did that happen? Very complex, long and too time-consuming to encapsulate here. It’s gradually been going on for quite a while, but I personally like the 1912 landmark year as when I feel it really escalated up to this point. I just wonder how much longer our system can handle this progressing ideological scenario.

So, do you want to know what my conclusion was on that term paper so long ago? I found that the best match (to me) was a Republic as the legal system, and Capitalism as the economic system. That is probably not surprising to some of you, but to others who tire of our capitalist system … well, you probably are not too thrilled with that. However, in case you have not been paying attention, we do not have a true capitalist system. Actually, we have a hybrid system, much like our legal system is now a hybrid. So when I say let’s go with a Republic and Capitalism, it actually means we have never really totally done that as part of the original American Experiment. I wonder what would happen if we did?

At this point you may even wonder where I stand politically. Well, according to some people who know me, not inside a very traditional political paradigm. Mainly because I try to avoid politics as much as possible. But then again, if it doesn’t interest you at all where I stand, thank you. I actually respect you for that. However, because this is my blog, and this is the topic at hand, I will not chicken out here and leave anyone hanging. But don’t be surprised if you’re not satisfied with my answer. Because it isn’t final, as it continues to evolve.

It’s practically impossible for me to endorse either of the two major party platforms they trot out every four years. Why do they do that? Don’t either of them have the big tent they brag about? No! … Okay, this is the bottom line for me. I get about 1/3 of my positions from the conservative side of the aisle and about 1/3 from the liberal side. The remaining 1/3 don’t seem to fit in either one, and represent a hodgepodge mix of positions. Some go along the lines of Libertarian, others Objectivism (Ayn Rand), others Green Party, and mix of oddities here and there, as well as new evolving ideas. Does that muddy the waters a bit for you? Thought so.

But let me add one more element here. The idea of a Meritocracy. The idea that what a person gets out of something is directly related to what they put into something. No rich kiddie gets to ride on Daddy’s dividends, and no lazy person gets government payouts. What you get is what you do. What you put in is what you get out, and so on and so forth. A bit simplistic, and not exactly a government system, but more of a social system. But you get the idea of what an end result should be. How we get there, I have no real idea. Just an extra idea to throw into the mix of all this.

Okay, so what the hell does all this even mean? For me, it means I am committed towards the ultimate growth and empowerment of the individual. That is the real bottom line for me. Any system of government that sets the foundation for, allows, and even promotes that (and gets out of our way), is what I am going with. If that truly can be set in place and made to work, I feel that system is one that allows a strong spiritual progression for all it’s citizens. So people could have the freedom to find their own spiritual paths. I personally am concerned that both major political parties could be leading us away from that.

Consider history for a moment. Most of history is about one group of people trying to control another group or other groups of people. The promise of the American Experiment was that it would lead us away from that. The promise was that each us individually could control our own destinies. That we could each go as far as our abilities, aspirations, talents, and lessons could take us. And continue to grow on an ongoing basis beyond that. How great could that be?!

But maybe there is one great lesson for each of us here. Can men/women actually govern themselves? Has it been proven that we can? That seems to be another part of the American Experiment, whether we have found out if we could. The jury may still be out on that, even though many others seem to feel we have already answered that in the negative. Maybe that is why some grasp for power in our system, because they think we are still children that need to be ruled. I don’t believe that for a moment. In the lower, darker part of our beings that may be true. But in the higher, lighter part of our beings I still have beaming hope we can have a government that is a strong foundation for spiritual growth.

And maybe this addresses the spiritual part of our being once again. That it all begins with each one of us, inside of ourselves. For how can we create a government that presides over others, if we cannot even control ourselves individually? Several spiritual teachers (including my own) have said, and I’m paraphrasing here, that ‘the greatest battle you will ever fight will be for control of your own being.” Maybe we won’t have the government we truly deserve until we have accomplished that? But then, what do we do in the meantime? Well, I still think that the American framework is a workable blueprint to get us there, while we get that so important spiritual element together. Ha, it does seem a bit like juggling on a unicycle across a tightrope above Niagara Falls, doesn’t it? But wow, what a cool thing to get to do!

A final note (finally!). After that summer-long Constitutional Convention deliberated in 1787, which was held in very strict secrecy, a number of anxious citizens had gathered outside of Independence Hall in Philadelphia to learn what had happened. As the delegates left the building, a Mrs. Powel asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well Doctor, what have you given us?” With no hesitation, Franklin famously replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

So, what do you think; can we keep it? We better, because the alternatives are far worse.

(By the way, Franklin was my favorite Founding Father. I wonder what he would think now.)