Wolfram
07-23-2005, 02:17 AM
This article, by Dr. Clyde Wilson, recently appeared in Chronicles Magazine.
W.
************************************************** **********
Random Thoughts on the Way We Are Now
Alas! it is delusion all;
The future cheats us from afar,
Nor can we be what we recall,
Nor dare we think on what we are.
—Lord Byron
Suppose the U.S. were to suffer a major economic catastrophe,
leaving millions in distress. Which of the two scenarios below more closely reflects what will happen:
A. Congress meets and in grave deliberation seeks wisdom and
understanding of how the the catastrophe happened, how it may be
remedied and prevented in the future, and how the people may best be helped.
B. Congress meets. The members make haste to look after their own interests. Then they take care of those who have influence over them or who they need to stay in power. Parties blame each other for the catastrophe. Congress finally responds to public demand by enacting a complex, plausible-sounding short-term remedy, although nobody knows whether it will really do any good or not.
****
Suppose the following events: Mexican thugs cross the border and
attempt to take over a ranch in Arizona. In the process they wound the rancher's eight-year-old daughter. The rancher and his son return fire and in the ensuing firefight two Mexicans are killed. One of them, it is later contended, was only 15 years old and had no
weapon. The thugs retreat to the Rio Grande, pursued by county
sheriff's deputies. Mexican police officers fire from across the
river to cover the escape of the thugs. One deputy is wounded.
Which best describes the likely response of President Bush:
A. The President demands that Mexico apologize, punish the offending
police officers, and deliver the attackers to the U.S. for trial. He
honors the ranch family and the wounded deputy in a White House
ceremony.
B. The President apologizes for the loss of Mexican life, denounces
vigilantism, and pushes prosecution of the rancher for murder and
violation of civil rights.
****
A lot of folks took delight when Dan Rather was caught reporting a
false story about George Bush's National Guard record and had to
retire. I have always been glad to see folks like Rather and that
other TV truth-seeker Sam Donaldson succeed. They exemplify the
greatness of America as the land of opportunity. They prove that in
America you can be ugly, dim-witted, and completely lacking in
personal appeal—and still become famous and a millionaire!
****
How far Americans have advanced toward the status of contented
imperial subjects is indicated by the silly and false assumptions
that are taken for granted by millions:
"The President is our commander-in-chief." The President was
never
intended to be the commander-in-chief of the country, or even of the
federal government. He is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
And the armed forces only operate according to laws and regulations
made by the Congress and under appropriations that expire every two
years. The President was made commander-in-chief to ensure civilian
control of the military, not to establish presidential control of
the citizens.
"Let the courts decide." It is hard to imagine any more
abject
surrender of a people's right of self-government. This is the
plausible seeming excuse of legislators who, out of cowardice and
expedient self-protection, have allowed the federal courts to foist
one social revolution after another on citizens who never consented
to them; in fact who never even had the opportunity to vote them up
or down.
"The two-party system helps democracy to work." In fact, no
device
was ever invented more effective in making sure that democracy does
not work than the two-party system. Its purpose and function is to
guarantee that no real challenges are ever offered to the rulers.
"The Republican Party is the party of conservatism and free
enterprise." In fact, the Republican Party has never, ever
opposed
any government interference in the free market except those that
might benefit labor or harm Big Business. The Republican Party is
and always has been the party of state capitalism, whatever its
deluded voters might think. In its rise to power it was
revolutionary, destroying the political heritage that went before in
order to establish the power of state capitalism. By state
capitalism is meant highly concentrated private ownership anbd
wealth with government protection and subsidy.
"Enemy combatants." A term used by the Bush government to
describe
people it holds in prisons offshore so that it may deprive such
persons of both the protection due to prisoners of war and the
procedural rights due to accused criminals. Bush contends that the
offshore prisons are not subject to constitutional requirements. In
this, as in so much else, we pay the price for Lincoln's having
put
presidential war powers above the Constitution in order to preserve
his own government. James Madison would have a simple answer: The
government is a government of limited and specific powers which are
delegated by the people of the States. The government does not exist
except by virtue of the Constitution. Therefore, there can be no
activities of the government that are not under the Constitution,
wherever they may be. I admit to being unenthusiastic about
extending to foreigners the legal rights of citizens. But since the
purpose of rights is to prevent officials from abusing citizens,
then we should be wary of the slippery slope of allowing officials
to abuse non-citizens. A more fundamental problem is that we no
longer know who is a citizen and who is not since the government
itself has thrown open the gates to every foreigner who can manage
to get here. Much of the time, when the government makes any
distinction between citizen and foreigner, it is in favor of the
foreigner.
W.
************************************************** **********
Random Thoughts on the Way We Are Now
Alas! it is delusion all;
The future cheats us from afar,
Nor can we be what we recall,
Nor dare we think on what we are.
—Lord Byron
Suppose the U.S. were to suffer a major economic catastrophe,
leaving millions in distress. Which of the two scenarios below more closely reflects what will happen:
A. Congress meets and in grave deliberation seeks wisdom and
understanding of how the the catastrophe happened, how it may be
remedied and prevented in the future, and how the people may best be helped.
B. Congress meets. The members make haste to look after their own interests. Then they take care of those who have influence over them or who they need to stay in power. Parties blame each other for the catastrophe. Congress finally responds to public demand by enacting a complex, plausible-sounding short-term remedy, although nobody knows whether it will really do any good or not.
****
Suppose the following events: Mexican thugs cross the border and
attempt to take over a ranch in Arizona. In the process they wound the rancher's eight-year-old daughter. The rancher and his son return fire and in the ensuing firefight two Mexicans are killed. One of them, it is later contended, was only 15 years old and had no
weapon. The thugs retreat to the Rio Grande, pursued by county
sheriff's deputies. Mexican police officers fire from across the
river to cover the escape of the thugs. One deputy is wounded.
Which best describes the likely response of President Bush:
A. The President demands that Mexico apologize, punish the offending
police officers, and deliver the attackers to the U.S. for trial. He
honors the ranch family and the wounded deputy in a White House
ceremony.
B. The President apologizes for the loss of Mexican life, denounces
vigilantism, and pushes prosecution of the rancher for murder and
violation of civil rights.
****
A lot of folks took delight when Dan Rather was caught reporting a
false story about George Bush's National Guard record and had to
retire. I have always been glad to see folks like Rather and that
other TV truth-seeker Sam Donaldson succeed. They exemplify the
greatness of America as the land of opportunity. They prove that in
America you can be ugly, dim-witted, and completely lacking in
personal appeal—and still become famous and a millionaire!
****
How far Americans have advanced toward the status of contented
imperial subjects is indicated by the silly and false assumptions
that are taken for granted by millions:
"The President is our commander-in-chief." The President was
never
intended to be the commander-in-chief of the country, or even of the
federal government. He is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
And the armed forces only operate according to laws and regulations
made by the Congress and under appropriations that expire every two
years. The President was made commander-in-chief to ensure civilian
control of the military, not to establish presidential control of
the citizens.
"Let the courts decide." It is hard to imagine any more
abject
surrender of a people's right of self-government. This is the
plausible seeming excuse of legislators who, out of cowardice and
expedient self-protection, have allowed the federal courts to foist
one social revolution after another on citizens who never consented
to them; in fact who never even had the opportunity to vote them up
or down.
"The two-party system helps democracy to work." In fact, no
device
was ever invented more effective in making sure that democracy does
not work than the two-party system. Its purpose and function is to
guarantee that no real challenges are ever offered to the rulers.
"The Republican Party is the party of conservatism and free
enterprise." In fact, the Republican Party has never, ever
opposed
any government interference in the free market except those that
might benefit labor or harm Big Business. The Republican Party is
and always has been the party of state capitalism, whatever its
deluded voters might think. In its rise to power it was
revolutionary, destroying the political heritage that went before in
order to establish the power of state capitalism. By state
capitalism is meant highly concentrated private ownership anbd
wealth with government protection and subsidy.
"Enemy combatants." A term used by the Bush government to
describe
people it holds in prisons offshore so that it may deprive such
persons of both the protection due to prisoners of war and the
procedural rights due to accused criminals. Bush contends that the
offshore prisons are not subject to constitutional requirements. In
this, as in so much else, we pay the price for Lincoln's having
put
presidential war powers above the Constitution in order to preserve
his own government. James Madison would have a simple answer: The
government is a government of limited and specific powers which are
delegated by the people of the States. The government does not exist
except by virtue of the Constitution. Therefore, there can be no
activities of the government that are not under the Constitution,
wherever they may be. I admit to being unenthusiastic about
extending to foreigners the legal rights of citizens. But since the
purpose of rights is to prevent officials from abusing citizens,
then we should be wary of the slippery slope of allowing officials
to abuse non-citizens. A more fundamental problem is that we no
longer know who is a citizen and who is not since the government
itself has thrown open the gates to every foreigner who can manage
to get here. Much of the time, when the government makes any
distinction between citizen and foreigner, it is in favor of the
foreigner.