The Course We Are On

Part I, Chapter III, of THOUGHT CHOICE POWER: Charting the Course of Liberty in Modern Society.

III
Heading

It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.[i] –George Washington

As sure as history is habitually distorted, no person can see forward into the continuum of Time.  No one can say with certainty what tomorrow will bring, and there exists not a soul amongst us with a perfect view beyond that of which the horizon has to offer.  Yet, even if only in general terms, we can chart our course and foresee to where We are headed.  We can correlate where We have been with the overall direction of this drifted day that is.

We have the ability – if honest with ourselves – to avoid the familiar storm fast approaching off the starboard beam.

Have We not been degrading our Democracy, defacing our Republic, and denigrating our livelihoods?  Have We not supported both a political environment wherein the monied rule and a manner of governing whereby little of significance can be accomplished unless a single Faction has near complete control?  Have We not fostered an Economy wherein the incomes of our ballyhooed middle class lay as flat as do the plans so neatly unfurled inside the properties of the well-constructed cadre of global elite?

Indeed, We can see the way in which We are headed. Still, to do so, We must reflect – however annoying to some – upon the fact that in 1775 many of the thirteen soon-to-be States asked John Adams for his counsel regarding the creation of their governments and constitutions.  Adams, widely considered by his contemporaries their foremost theoretical authority on governmental structures and later to be our 2nd President, responded with his seminal work, Thoughts on Government.  It is inside the bindings of his esteemed blueprint, which went on to provide much of the structure for our Federal Government, where Adams expressed the following:

We ought to consider, what is the end of government, before we determine which is the best form. Upon this point all speculative politicians will agree, that the happiness of society is the end of government, as all Divines and moral Philosophers will agree that the happiness of the individual is the end of man. From this principle it will follow, that the form of government, which communicates ease, comfort, security, or in one word happiness to the greatest number of persons, and in the greatest degree, is the best.[ii]

Thusly begged is a question: Would anyone amongst us like to step forward under cover of open debate and argue against “ease, comfort, security, or, in one word, happiness” – the conjoined cravings of humankind – as being the very reason why We have our Government as constituted?  To be sure, any a taker would have little respect for the words “If men were angels…”, and President Adams would have deemed them cast from the absurd – foolish for discounting the wisdom within “you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

And can We not agree that President Adams would find the years since his passing filled with corroborating evidence – awash with illustrations of people laboring under the weight of oppressive governments?  Cannot We agree that Adams, while he would this day find Security amply impressed upon the psyche of his countrymen, would be perplexed as to how We managed to warp the words Ease and Comfort as he aligned them alongside “happiness to the greatest number of persons, and in the greatest degree”?

Yes, there will always be those forever yearning to place the twisted tenets of their own brand of capitalism – and freedom – above the wisdom of President Adams, so let us be clear when We say that as sure as some are to deride our words so too have they long scoffed, privately as a rule, at the more significant implications sewn within these not so trivial words attributed to our 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.[iii]

Our Government was designed to justly advance an environment conducive to the expansion of “happiness to the greatest number of persons, and in the greatest degree” – to promote each person’s respective Pursuit of Ease and Comfort within the Security of a safe and sound society – to allow each of us to live our Life and exercise our Liberty in the name of our individual Happiness as lawfully restrained by the common boundaries which We share with our fellow citizens.  Regrettably, We have been willing to turn from this primary intent – instead, entrusting our Government to individuals determined to detach our political affairs from the measurable effects of our economic policies.

We have allowed ourselves to be distracted and divided by drivel, always eager to emphasize our private differences over our public commonalities.  And as We struggle to recognize the common threads of our existence, our System is being pulled apart – distorted to the extent that Political Economy has been, in fact, scrubbed from our thoughts.

In how many ways do We need to say it?

As a people, We have impaired our interests and those of our descendants.  We have watched as our System has been placed on a heading whereby the ideals of our Forefathers steadily succumb to the wanton desires of a fortunate few, from near and far alike.  We have even tolerated the mounting pressures for ever quicker salutes as our Government has failed to protect us within our intended framework of justice.  We have been compliant, having allowed the entrusted to fixate on their electoral gains instead of economic policies that foster sustainable, long-term, economic growth.  Not to mention the fact that our Captain has done nothing, quite literally, to address the ever-widening gap in our distribution of wealth.  And now our moment is upon us.

Hence, if our bearings are to be restored, then We need here and now – in uncomplicated terms – enunciate what we expect of our Political Economy…

So that we may go about a just Pursuit of our Ease and Comfort, let it be known that We expect to be shielded within the context of our working lives.  Our most basic of wants connected to our Political Economy is for our Government to reasonably function as a conduit and catalyst within our shared sphere of commerce.  After all, is this not our intended heading – a shared System beyond that of Security wherein our structures of Government and Economy operate on behalf of the People?

If still confused as to our hopes surrounding “ease, comfort, security, or, in one word, happiness,” knowing that some shall resist and even more shall lag, then the following words spoken by President Theodore Roosevelt should provide enough understanding as to what We expect of our Political Economy:

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing; and this is a prize open to every man[iv]

We deem these words of President Roosevelt to be the quintessential explanation of our American Dream.  Why?  Because “[working] hard at work worth doing” should generate tangible results, “[working] hard at work worth doing” should afford some modest degree of Ease of Life, “[working] hard at work worth doing” should result in a relative measure of Comfort, and “[working] hard at work worth doing” should illuminate many a Corridor of Opportunity.

Enough is enough.  We can no longer afford to allow “work worth doing” to be equated with work of any kind, work that will likely never lead to a better Opportunity for either this generation or the next, work for the sake of work irrespective of the components of Life that relate to Happiness, and We certainly cannot afford to continue with our current ways of work while allowing ourselves to be alienated politically.

We can no longer afford – recognizing what We can see today – to underestimate the likelihood that our present heading is leading us into very troubled waters, for with each sunrise of apathy does a tempest grow as per these words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt:

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism – ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.[v]

Is it not safe to say that each President Roosevelt, as well as Presidents Jefferson, Adams, and Washington, would this day be astounded by “the growth of private power” and our penchant to sell it as anything but?  Would they not agree with the sentiment of many that We have nonchalantly arranged a state wherein the most basic tenets used to hold together the foundation of our Representative Democracy are ignored?  Aye, they would question why we have obediently carved ourselves into distinctly different bodies with little in common save for an ability to feed the flames of Faction. They would warn us of the woe coming our way if We continue to be indifferent towards “the ownership of government by an individual, by a group.”

Fact is, our propensity to disregard the more perilous inclinations of mankind is sure to shadow exaggerated levels of satisfaction with our Political Economy, and most any of our finest Presidents would warn us that if We do not change course We will eventually be confronted by some variant form of tyranny – they would tell us that We will be faced in a while if not much sooner with a technologically equipped tyrant of our own making.

Moreover, The Record tells us that it matters not if one is to cope with a despot on the left or a despot on the right, as each is undoubtedly related in ways and intent.

We must be honest with ourselves!

We are constructing an entity of historical Dysfunction.  We are rearing a multi-headed monolithic monarchy fated to dictate our lives as it sees fit.  In reasonably practical terms, We the People are preparing our way of Life to be scuttled, and lest our Nation perish as our possession, We need to see that our course does change.

This is our cause – this is our calling.  This is our revolution.

 

[i] “From George Washington to the Pennsylvania Legislature, 12 September 1789,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0014. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 4, 8 September 1789 – 15 January 1790, ed. Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993, pp. 23–25.]

 

[ii] “III. Thoughts on Government, April 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-04-02-0026-0004. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 4, February–August 1776, ed. Robert J. Taylor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979, pp. 86–93.]

 

[iii] “Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776,” National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration, America’s Founding Documents, National Archives and Records Administration, 2020

 

[iv] Roosevelt, Theodore. “The Square Deal Speech” AmericanLiterature, https://americanliterature.com/history/theodore-roosevelt/speech/the-square-deal-speech, The Square Deal Speech, New York State Fair on Labor Day, September 7, 1903

 

[v] Roosevelt, Franklin D. “The New Deal” Pepperdine | School of Public Policy, https://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/academics/research/faculty-research/new-deal/roosevelt-speeches/fr042938.htm/. Message to Congress on the Concentration of Economic Power.  Congress of the United States, April 29, 1938.