I've also been thinking about the relationship that exists between the Monarchy of the United Kingdom and the general public (commoners) who overwhelmingly support them in their elevated role. Legislative, executive and judicial powers are given to other parties, but the Queen of England and her lawful successors are given the "Royal Prerogative" to regulate civil service, declare war, make peace, direct actions of the military and negotiate international agreements and alliances. Great Britain's Parliament, however, can override any power the Monarch holds by passing legislation.
It's a relationship (however symbolic) that I can't fully understand, because our first president, George Washington, made it clear he did not want to be king. He believed the United States would be a stronger Republic if led by its free and independent citizens. It was a controversial position taken by our commander in chief, who resisted the masses and military might who deeply desired a sovereign ruler.
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| Our First President |
George Washington said in his first inaugural address in New York City: "The magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me... could overwhelm with despondence one who... ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies."
His modesty and abhorrence of power set a standard for American presidents that lasted for more than 150 years.
We need government's help
The fierce independence and self-reliance that George Washington envisioned for the United States eventually succumbed to the political scheming of powerful leaders who took advantage of an economically-weakened American populace.
With the "Great Depression" of the 1930's and presidency of Franklin D Roosevelt, the United States was introduced to our first organized system of welfare, joining the ranks of Germany, Great Britain, and the rest of Europe. Roosevelt's power grab led to The New Deal, which meant a drastically new and intrusive role for government.
"I pledge you," he said at the 1932 Democratic National Convention, "and I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people." Roosevelt and his "brain trust" of political advisers -- arrogant and opportunistic -- convinced millions of U.S. citizens that he was their savior in their time of need, or as the New York Times editorialized on June 18, 1933, "the heaven-sent man of the hour."
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| President Roosevelt |
In the 1950's President Lyndon B Johnson's desire to create the Great Society took the New Deal policies to even greater heights through public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid and federal education spending. The power and arrogance that Johnson seized was made possible by the assassination of President Kennedy, who had had his own initiatives known as the New Frontier.
President Johnson took advantage of Kennedy's assassination and the idealistic 1960's to push his utopian views on poverty and discrimination. Instead of ending "the war on poverty" Johnson led the country into further dependency and political/racial/military unrest.
The Great Society's programs expanded further under Presidents Nixon and Ford. With President's Bush Clinton, and now Obama, welfare has continued its spread into the lives of children, seniors and even working class citizens.
While the goals of these social programs was originally honorable -- ending poverty and racial injustice -- the result has been much less: a loss of freedom and a growing dependency on our country's leaders to provide everything from food, childcare and healthcare.
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| The New Deal |
As Barack Obama ascended to the presidency in 2008, our country was once again reeling from the aftermath of a severe recession. Once again, America mistakenly looked to Washington and its political royalty to find salvation.
Obama's historic victory caused some people to view him as a messiah, as this quote from Rep Jesse Jackson Jr shows: "I cried all night. I'm going to be crying for the next four years. What Barack Obama has accomplished is the single most extraordinary event that has occurred in the 232 years of the nation's political history... The event itself is so extraordinary, that another chapter should be added to the Bible to chronicle its significance."
And with this view firmly entrenched, Obama has proceeded to launch one of the greatest assaults to our freedoms in modern times: passing Obamacare despite the objections of the American people and lower courts who have called the bill unconstitutional, attempting to change the Second Amendment (gun control), and bypassing Congress to name czar positions overseeing healthcare, climate change, the auto industry and urban affairs. President Obama has also passed two massive economic stimulus programs that are bankrupting our economy. And let's not forget how quickly he nationalized auto companies, financial institutions and banks.
The results? A country with over $14 trillion of debt, over 9% unemployment, one in seven on food stamps, a three year low for the dollar, gasoline prices over $4 per gallon, and more than 50% of our population receiving some type of income from the government.
Based on his first two years in office, I'm convinced our Lord and Majesty, King Barack would be at home in Persia, Alexander's Greek Empire, Rome, Egypt, the Inca and Maya empires, and the Soviet Union. They were all pyramid-building empires made up of welfare-like programs commanded from the top.
Let's hope that with the election of last fall's conservative agenda, America sees the error of their ways. In less than one-hundred years, we have seen the rise of government that would shock our founding fathers to the core. Unless we are willing to stop our dependency on government welfare -- and restore the presidency to the time of George Washington -- the United States of America is doomed to go the way of prior empires.
God save the president.
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