The Founding Fathers were a gifted group. Somehow, sifting through all their competing interests, different constituencies, clashing ideas, and firmly held beliefs, they could still see clearly enough to draft a Declaration of Independence, a Constitution, a Bill of Rights, and a canon of laws to serve their new and groundbreaking system of government.
The basic concept was that “no man is above the law,” and all men (and women) must be bound by a fair and just code that applied equally to all. They couldn’t account for every contingency, however, and they certainly couldn’t see far into a future that would be conquered by technical marvels they couldn’t even comprehend being possible. But they tried.
Having had the experience of being ruled by a tyrant who was half-mad during his entire reign, they took steps to ensure that no one could become a king — or, if someone tried, there would be boundaries that would keep potential autocrats in check.
The system designed by the Founding Fathers worked, and worked well, even when there were bumps in the road. There were many tests along the way, the greatest of which, perhaps, was the Civil War, which threatened to tear the experiment in two. Unity prevailed, of course, and even though we are still working on the lessons of that conflict, we have made progress.
More severe tests came in the form of two World Wars, a Great Depression, nuclear threats, massive natural calamities, political upheaval — and, now, a pandemic for which there seems to be no solution, at least not yet. Through it all, we have held it all together, and have even exported our particular brand of democracy across the globe.
We have endured, and even prospered, through all of these tests, and some challenges have made us even stronger. But there is one test we have not faced before — not until now — and it is, unlike the other challenges, not external but internal. This test is shaping up to be the Mother of All Tests: a giant SAT, ACT, GRE, bar exam, you name it, all rolled into one.
This is the “Fox-Is-In-The-Henhouse Test,” and if we can’t realize it’s happening and take steps to pass this test, it could be the deal-breaker that the Founding Fathers never could have anticipated. I think you already know where I’m going, but I’m going to spell it out anyway.
The Founding Fathers did an excellent job of protecting the front door of our democracy: There is very little to no chance that a wanna-be dictator can bust through the gates and blow down the walls. But what happens if we’ve let someone slip through a side door, or, worse, the back door? What if that someone has an incredibly over-inflated idea of their intelligence and an ego that needs constant, lickspittle attention, and finds himself with the entire set of levers needed to control our government suddenly, and inexplicably, at his disposal? Have we given the keys to the Ferrari to a drunk and said, “Have at it”?
This is the one thing I think the Founding Fathers never saw coming: that someone totally unqualified would slip in behind the curtain and try and become the American version of the Wizard of Oz — all smoke and mirrors, and no substance. Worse, this “wizard” would attempt to remake the government in his own image, or what he thinks a government in his own image should be.
In that process, he joyfully discovers that no one appears to want to stop him. He can ignore any subpoena he wants, he can hide his own financial records, he can make demands outside the law, he can break bread with dictators and hide his conversations with them. The senators of his own party have turned into deer staring at headlights, and he runs them down at will.
Donald Trump stood on the stage of the 2016 Republican Convention and uttered those five famous words: “I alone can fix it.” After nearly four years of disastrous decisions, 20,000 lies, outright fraud and utter deception, those words have morphed into the immortal phrase “I take no responsibility at all.”
The Washington Post last week published an article specifying the seven impeachable offenses Donald Trump has made in the last 30 days. Yup, he sure learned his lesson from the Ukraine mess, all right. What he learned, apparently, is the truth of his third most memorable muttering: “I can do whatever I want.”
Trump called Vladimir Putin last week. A reporter finally had the courage to ask about Russian bounties on U.S. troops. “We don’t discuss our private conversations,” Trump shot back.
Our whole system of government was built on a certain amount of reverence for the rule of law, and making sure that those to whom we entrust the running of that government care more about preserving our freedoms than enriching themselves. We even require those placed in high positions to take an oath to that effect.
Unfortunately, we have now learned what happens when that oath means nothing to a president who only mouths the words and doesn’t take them to heart. Our body politic, our treasured republic, our solemnly blood-bought and paid for democracy, has a cancer at its very center — and we must operate immediately to excise it before it metastasizes and spreads everywhere.
If you don’t think it hasn’t already started to spread, take another look at Attorney General William Barr’s recent testimony to Congress and tune in to watch the federal troops stomp through Portland and, soon, Seattle, Chicago, Albuquerque and other cities. Is New York City next?
In an astute editorial last week, The New York Times opined that one of Donald Trump’s most significant failings, among many, is his “pathological reluctance” to admit mistakes. We can only hope and pray that those who voted for Trump in 2016 are not similarly afflicted.
And you know, of course, that I am mostly right.
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