The US: Populist or Republic?
Our nation's birthday.
On this anniversary of the birth of our republic, it’s only fitting that we reflect a little on what we won in the Revolutionary War. Just what did we get in return for the sacrifices made in that conflict? Did we really get a republic? Or has it turned into something else?
Populism is a political model that would have the government champion the “common man” and satisfy his needs and wants. Many definitions of this term refer to the struggle of the lower class against the elite. Prime examples of this are Bolivia or Venezuela, where Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez, respectively, have been elected by the people to act in their best interests. And, in those nations, it is a neglected, indigenous population or an underprivileged underclass that has placed their trust in these demigods—someone whom they believe is “one of them” but who, they think, has the ability to act as capable steward of their nation.
A republic is also a political system in which the the citizens elect people to represent them and see to their interests. The United States and France are cited as examples of this ideology. In this model, the electorate also elects their representatives and expects them to be capable stewards of their nation.
It should be obvious to anyone who reads the headlines about those populist countries that the system doesn’t work. As much as the elected leaders claim to have much in common with the lower classes who put them in office, in short order, they separate themselves from their constituencies and squander their countries’ resources. As it turns out, the so-called “elite” against which they struggle just happen to be the only ones with the skills required to manage the country and its resources competently.
Like it or not, our country is rushing toward populism. Our politicians have used our tax dollars to buy a voting majority that is interested in themselves at the expense of the nation as a whole. Those they put in office are incapable of making decisions that might displease their constituencies but which are for the good of the country. We are certainly hard put to find any candidates that might be included in a sequel to John Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage.” Or, if they’re in office, their careers are short-lived.
Our kids our taught that profits are evil and that American business and industry deserve no respect. Yet that is where we must look to recover this nation’s wealth, restore the necessary jobs, pay down our national debt, and get back ahead of the game! The “elite”—the entrepreneurs and the businessmen who are capable of generating the funds to pay for all our excesses—are being shackled and prevented from doing what they do best. So we’re not only rapidly decreasing our ability to generate our national wealth, we’re even more rapidly placing greater demands on it.
It’s time we returned to the point where we started in 1776 and recognized just what it was we won! Friends, we won nothing more or less than the opportunity to build a great nation. What we did with it when we first won it was remarkable. What we have done with it in recent years would have our founding fathers shaking their heads and wringing their hands in dismay.
Most importantly, what we do with that opportunity now is up to us. But we’d better do it quickly or we’re going to lose it forever!
