Sunday, March 2, 2014

Democracy: Is It Too Early For An Obituary?

To the illustrious Mr. Pot:

Will 2014 be the year that our Republic begins its slow death? If so, shouldn’t we at least begin to compile a fitting obituary? For example:

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – 2014
The democratic republic commonly known as the United States of America passed away quietly this year. The cause of death was an insidious affliction common to many failing nations. It's officially known as Liberalism. The technical medical term is pecuniam non habere or a “fanatic tendency to spend money that doesn't exist”. Most elected officials of the Democrat persuasion hailed the event as the beginning of a new era. “This is the dawning of a new America,” one pencil necked liberal opined, “Finally, we'll have everything we ever wanted for the poor, the middle class, the labor unions, and the children! Just think of it....unrestricted and government sponsored abortions, permanent unemployment compensation, a Marxist-Leninist textbook in every classroom, single payer healthcare. And we'll never have to worry about paying for one penny of it."  Republicans leaving the Senate chamber for the final time were heard muttering on their way to their country club happy hours something about not having enough votes to stop it.

This once proud country leaves behind many needy dependents and creditors including nearly every nation on the face of the earth.

In lieu of flowers or memorial donations, Democrat officials request all citizens simply sign over their paychecks to the new government. They claim it's a new tradition that everyone will have to get used to anyway.
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As a serious republican form of government, our country is in waters heretofore uncharted. The waters are quite choppy and present a real danger to the ship of state that equals the fate of the Titanic, Lusitania, and the Andrea Doria all rolled into one. Since 2008, we have seen an unprecedented increase in the national debt. As it climbs to $17 trillion and beyond, the debt represents more than a 30% increase during the present administration alone. Any reputable economic scholar will readily concede that irresponsible spending of this magnitude spells doom. Yet this week, both houses of Congress joyfully extended the legal debt ceiling for a full year and now there is serious talk about completely abolishing such a pesky roadblock to unbridled political pork.

There is another troubling signal that forecasts the impending end our Republic. Students of political thought generally agree that the purpose of a Republic is to extend and guarantee rights, especially where the individual citizen is concerned. The past six years have witnessed a startling erosion of civil liberties in our country. While a few outspoken Congressmen have expressed outrage, all the others have simply ignored the excesses of the current Executive Branch except for a few instances of disingenuous public posturing. The IRS has been callously and illegally used to target right leaning political groups. High ranking Administration officials have appeared before Congressional committees and, rather than testify truthfully, hid behind the protective shield of the 5th Amendment. The Oval Office's chief occupant has illegally and unilaterally modified laws passed by Congress, delayed implementation of them, granted exemptions to the laws for his political cronies, and has simply directed his Attorney General not to enforce sections with which he personally disagrees. Again, this dangerous and unprecedented disregard for the sacred concept of separation of powers and checks and balances portends dissolution of government structure that furthers shakes the foundation of our Republic. And again, deafening silence from Republican leadership.

An American Ambassador and three brave cohorts are brutally murdered during a well-organized (and well financed) attack on our consulate in Benghazi. Our President spins the episode with hastily constructed and literally laughable lies about the circumstances. To date, no plausible explanation has been given and no scoundrels have been apprehended.  Quite the opposite. CNN News was on the “crime” scene days before our own investigative forces arrived. As for the attack itself, “There was simply no time to send help” our president has reiterated numerous times. A simple question: Mr. President, since our intervention forces were only hours away from Benghazi, how could you have possibly known that there wouldn't be enough time for them to arrive. How could you have possibly known that the attack would not spread to other parts of the city and continue for days? And finally, where exactly was our Secretary of State during this sorry incident? Oh well, I guess the answer to that last one is “What possible difference does it make?”

The list continues and is certainly exacerbated by incompetence and what many would describe as corruption. To wit: a half a billion dollar web site that didn't work from day one; a “fast and furious” and half-witted attempt to provide weapons to major drug cartels; billions of dollars to buy helicopters to give to Afghanistan (purchased, by the way, from Russian manufacturers and not from our own US companies); increasing of Congressional salaries while at the same time cutting disabled veterans benefits; an unemployment rate that has exceeded 7% during the entire Obama Administration; an unprecedented expansion of public assistance programs including unemployment compensation and the SNAP program (food stamps). The public assistance programs we have in this country are certainly comparable to the circus demands of the Roman populace at the beginning of Rome's heralded downfall.

There is a startling conclusion to be derived from the current state of the American republic. I contend that a true republican form of democracy and unbridled liberalism cannot successfully co-exist and may in fact be the antithesis of each other. In “Democracy in America”, Alexis de Tocqueville puts it succinctly and eloquently: “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers it can bribe the public with the public's money.” Unfortunately, it's not just the public who is being bribed from the national coffers. Government largesse extends its tempting hand into every aspect of our society. Sadly, more and more segments are grasping this spectral hand and greedily shaking it as the ducats copiously fall to the floor. It's getting harder and harder to turn down the free lunch that liberalism seductively flaunts in our collective faces. As the public assistance rolls continue to double, as our nationals debt multiplies, and as our electorate becomes more apathetic, the liberal legions arrogantly proclaim victory. I guess those of us in the loyal opposition could regroup. We could try to demand new Republican leadership; we could fight the liberal, Marxist ideologies permeating our colleges and universities. We could try to match the exorbitant amounts of money donated by Hollywood types and mega labor unions to liberal causes. And we could hope for more media outlets like Fox News to report “fair and balanced” news. We could do lots of things.... but as our dear Republic lies wheezing on its death bed, the only cogent thought that seems to keep running through my mind is: what possible difference does it make?

Respectfully submitted,

Mr. Kettle

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