What if America Elects a Socialist?
This election is an historic one, there is no doubt about that. But aside from the issues of race and gender, it is the principles and ideals at stake that have the potential to rapidly and fundamentally change the character of this nation. For the first time in our history we may elect an avowed socialist. Although vehemently denied by Senator Obama and his supporters, there is no question that he, and the Democrat leadership, have this goal in mind. They have envied the enlightened “success” of European socialism and admired the likes of Fidel Castro, Hugo Chaves and, in the past, Joseph Stalin. Since the days of Franklin Roosevelt they have become experts in class warfare, inciting the poor against the rich, the “middle class” being loosely defined so as to garner their support as necessary. Senator Obama admitted in an unguarded moment with “Joe the Plumber” that he embraces the concept of redistribution of wealth; “To each according to his need, from each according to his ability” as Karl Marx said. He and the Democrats believe, and have for a long time, that the Federal Government is the proper avenue for the solution to every problem be it health care, education, charity, mileage standards, free speech and anything else one can think of. They have pledged to grow government, raise taxes on the successful to do it and borrow the rest. They are supporters of the fairness doctrine, gun control, infanticide, and gay marriage. If Senator Obama is elected and Harry Reid gets his senate super-majority there is no question that along with Nancy Pelosi, they will implement this agenda with a speed not seen since the New Deal and pack the Supreme Court with judges who will advance their ideals long after they are gone.
If Senator Obama is elected, it will only be by the slimmest of majorities, just as all presidential elections have been in recent years. If he is fortunate, he will get fifty three or fifty four percent of the vote and the press will declare it a landslide and say “The American people have spoken, we want socialism!” But for the nearly half of us who will not vote for socialism, what are we to do? For those of us who do not want to see our wealth taken from us and given to others, who want to keep our choices in heath care, who want to have options for our children’s education and want to have venues where we can speak out against these and many other government intrusions, what are we to do?
This very scenario was, in fact, the greatest fear of the founders of this country; the tyranny of the majority, the rule of the mob. Unfettered democracy was seen as just a great a danger as that of the tyranny of an all powerful king. As Socrates found, a democracy can vote to have you drik your own poison. That is why the founders choose a constitutional republic with very specific and limited powers divided between three branches of government. As long as the role of government was limited by the elected leader’s respect for the Constitution and the people’s moral character to hold them accountable, there was no way America would accept the socialist, communist or fascist experiments of Europe. After George Washington who set the example for leadership by stepping down at the height of power, there was little danger of dictatorship either.
All that changed during the tenure of Franklin Roosevelt. FDR was a president for life who exercised dictatorial powers through a myriad of government agencies he created, with the assistance of a friendly congress. The constitution was no longer the clear and unquestioned law of the land but had become a document that was malleable, in some ways was out of date, and could be reinterpreted to support just about any desire of Roosevelt and his friends. It was at that time many of the American people abandoned the principles of a constitutional republic and embraced the socialist principle that and individual’s welfare and happiness was the responsibility of the central government’s and not their own. By encouraging class warfare, distributing money from the treasury to their supporters, and taking nearly absolute control of the education system the liberal Democrat party has systematically incorporated more and more socialism into our society. In fact, they have been so successful that even Republicans now attempt to buy support with social programs. There are few politicians from either party who speak out for the vision of the founders and even fewer who openly advocate dismantling the system. After all, who is going to get elected by promising to take away government benefits?
So what are those who don’t want to go down this road to do? For those who believe in the founding principles of this nation-very limited government, individual freedom and responsibility-what do we do if we see little hope in a return to those principles? What is a minority, even a large one, to do when its freedom and principles are no longer protected by the constitution and an all powerful government will force it to accept the confiscation of its property and limitations on its liberty?
Option number one. We hope that President Obama and his accomplices in the congress so overplay their hand that enough of the American people wake up and realize that this is not where the nation should be going and, as some conservatives hope, the people elect another Reagan. That may well happen but we need more than the Reagan and Gingrich revolutions for as we can see by where we are, they were mere speed bumps on the road to socialism. If the elections of 2010 and 2012 are negative reactions to the policies of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, the reformers need to actually dismantle the beast, not merely try to tame it. If it is merely sedated or restrained, it need only await another Obama to awaken it in another ten or twenty years. It is my opinion, with the amount of irresponsibility in Washington, financially and otherwise, we may not have that long before our great nation collapses. If that happens the world will lose a great stabilizing influence and it may become what it was in the ninetieth century, a world of poor nations ruled by dictators (kings) competing for supremacy by force of arms. Only this time the nations will be Russia, China and the US and the weapons will be much more terrible.
Certainly we want to avoid such a fate but our politicians in Washington seem to be running headlong into the abyss. While some see it and there is probably a majority of people who believe that Washington is a large part of the problem, how many will vote for a candidate that vows to eliminate their little piece of the government pie? Is there any real hope that we will be able to reverse the voracious appetite of government and put it on a crash diet? That brings us to option number two, actually a favorite of the left when they don’t get what they want, leaving. Now this is fine for the left who have more socialist places like Europe to go to but where does one go when one is seeking a modern state where liberty, opportunity and the rule of law are standard? Once upon a time, one came to America, but if America is no longer that place... There are no longer unsettled frontiers in which to begin anew as there were for our forefathers. For the more wealthy among us, the options are more diverse, as they always are for the wealthy, but for the vast majority of us, conservatives and libertarians among the great middle class, leaving the country does not seem a viable option without a great degree of sacrifice. And why should we leave? We are supposed to be living under a contract called the Constitution and if the present government is operating contrary to that document, then it is illegal and we have the right to resist.
Which brings us to option number three. If leaving is not a viable option and the national leadership is unresponsive at best, and destructive at worst, revolution is often the final resort for the oppressed. Such actions can run the gamut from the relatively bloodless fall of the Soviet Union to the bloodbaths of countless coups throughout history. In America, the Soviet Union is probably the best model but without a catalyst, a crisis in which the national government demonstrates its utter incompetence and is unable to solve, the mass of people will continue to tolerate the most egregious attacks on their liberty. With such an entrenched power, the Communist party in the Soviet Union and the liberal/socialist ideals endemic to both parties in the United States, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to foment a real revolution without that crisis yet no one looks forward to the collapse of the country that will result from it.
Finally, option number four. This is an option that has a long and checkered past within our history-secession. Getting the colonies to cooperate in the beginning, the threat of southern secession under President Jackson and its realization during President Lincoln’s time are all viable historical examples. Even today there are movements or parties in various states that support secession. To those who see no hope of changing the government from within, are attached to the land of their birth and do not want to wait for a horrible crisis to overtake us all, this may be the most reasonable option. I have no doubt that this is a more difficult option to mentally realize today, as opposed to during the civil war, for state loyalty no longer preempts that of the country as a whole. But there are many people in red states who see the tyranny of the blue states in the Northeast and West as insurmountable and, as things progress and liberty becomes bound more tightly, they may see this as the only viable option to return at least some part of the nation to the constitution and avoid the calamity that befalls the rest of the nation as a result of straying so far afield of our founding principles.
Whether Senator Obama is elected or not, the march of this country toward socialism will continue, he will merely accelerate the pace to a sprint. What will the great minority of us, those who love liberty and believe in the founders vision, do about it? We will simply protest loudly as we are swallowed up by the relentless march of liberalism? Will we hope that the American people suddenly choose to vote against their immediate self interest and politicians will develop enough backbone to dismantle entrenched bureaucracies and limit their own power? Will some of us escape and seek out some new place where freedom still reigns? Will our coming collapse lead to a new and glorious revolution that returns us to our roots or lead to even darker days? Or will some have the courage to leave the union in an effort to maintain the founder’s original vision and avoid the worst of this great country’s misfortunes? Only time will tell.
Patrick Samuels
www.patricsamuels.com
If Senator Obama is elected, it will only be by the slimmest of majorities, just as all presidential elections have been in recent years. If he is fortunate, he will get fifty three or fifty four percent of the vote and the press will declare it a landslide and say “The American people have spoken, we want socialism!” But for the nearly half of us who will not vote for socialism, what are we to do? For those of us who do not want to see our wealth taken from us and given to others, who want to keep our choices in heath care, who want to have options for our children’s education and want to have venues where we can speak out against these and many other government intrusions, what are we to do?
This very scenario was, in fact, the greatest fear of the founders of this country; the tyranny of the majority, the rule of the mob. Unfettered democracy was seen as just a great a danger as that of the tyranny of an all powerful king. As Socrates found, a democracy can vote to have you drik your own poison. That is why the founders choose a constitutional republic with very specific and limited powers divided between three branches of government. As long as the role of government was limited by the elected leader’s respect for the Constitution and the people’s moral character to hold them accountable, there was no way America would accept the socialist, communist or fascist experiments of Europe. After George Washington who set the example for leadership by stepping down at the height of power, there was little danger of dictatorship either.
All that changed during the tenure of Franklin Roosevelt. FDR was a president for life who exercised dictatorial powers through a myriad of government agencies he created, with the assistance of a friendly congress. The constitution was no longer the clear and unquestioned law of the land but had become a document that was malleable, in some ways was out of date, and could be reinterpreted to support just about any desire of Roosevelt and his friends. It was at that time many of the American people abandoned the principles of a constitutional republic and embraced the socialist principle that and individual’s welfare and happiness was the responsibility of the central government’s and not their own. By encouraging class warfare, distributing money from the treasury to their supporters, and taking nearly absolute control of the education system the liberal Democrat party has systematically incorporated more and more socialism into our society. In fact, they have been so successful that even Republicans now attempt to buy support with social programs. There are few politicians from either party who speak out for the vision of the founders and even fewer who openly advocate dismantling the system. After all, who is going to get elected by promising to take away government benefits?
So what are those who don’t want to go down this road to do? For those who believe in the founding principles of this nation-very limited government, individual freedom and responsibility-what do we do if we see little hope in a return to those principles? What is a minority, even a large one, to do when its freedom and principles are no longer protected by the constitution and an all powerful government will force it to accept the confiscation of its property and limitations on its liberty?
Option number one. We hope that President Obama and his accomplices in the congress so overplay their hand that enough of the American people wake up and realize that this is not where the nation should be going and, as some conservatives hope, the people elect another Reagan. That may well happen but we need more than the Reagan and Gingrich revolutions for as we can see by where we are, they were mere speed bumps on the road to socialism. If the elections of 2010 and 2012 are negative reactions to the policies of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, the reformers need to actually dismantle the beast, not merely try to tame it. If it is merely sedated or restrained, it need only await another Obama to awaken it in another ten or twenty years. It is my opinion, with the amount of irresponsibility in Washington, financially and otherwise, we may not have that long before our great nation collapses. If that happens the world will lose a great stabilizing influence and it may become what it was in the ninetieth century, a world of poor nations ruled by dictators (kings) competing for supremacy by force of arms. Only this time the nations will be Russia, China and the US and the weapons will be much more terrible.
Certainly we want to avoid such a fate but our politicians in Washington seem to be running headlong into the abyss. While some see it and there is probably a majority of people who believe that Washington is a large part of the problem, how many will vote for a candidate that vows to eliminate their little piece of the government pie? Is there any real hope that we will be able to reverse the voracious appetite of government and put it on a crash diet? That brings us to option number two, actually a favorite of the left when they don’t get what they want, leaving. Now this is fine for the left who have more socialist places like Europe to go to but where does one go when one is seeking a modern state where liberty, opportunity and the rule of law are standard? Once upon a time, one came to America, but if America is no longer that place... There are no longer unsettled frontiers in which to begin anew as there were for our forefathers. For the more wealthy among us, the options are more diverse, as they always are for the wealthy, but for the vast majority of us, conservatives and libertarians among the great middle class, leaving the country does not seem a viable option without a great degree of sacrifice. And why should we leave? We are supposed to be living under a contract called the Constitution and if the present government is operating contrary to that document, then it is illegal and we have the right to resist.
Which brings us to option number three. If leaving is not a viable option and the national leadership is unresponsive at best, and destructive at worst, revolution is often the final resort for the oppressed. Such actions can run the gamut from the relatively bloodless fall of the Soviet Union to the bloodbaths of countless coups throughout history. In America, the Soviet Union is probably the best model but without a catalyst, a crisis in which the national government demonstrates its utter incompetence and is unable to solve, the mass of people will continue to tolerate the most egregious attacks on their liberty. With such an entrenched power, the Communist party in the Soviet Union and the liberal/socialist ideals endemic to both parties in the United States, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to foment a real revolution without that crisis yet no one looks forward to the collapse of the country that will result from it.
Finally, option number four. This is an option that has a long and checkered past within our history-secession. Getting the colonies to cooperate in the beginning, the threat of southern secession under President Jackson and its realization during President Lincoln’s time are all viable historical examples. Even today there are movements or parties in various states that support secession. To those who see no hope of changing the government from within, are attached to the land of their birth and do not want to wait for a horrible crisis to overtake us all, this may be the most reasonable option. I have no doubt that this is a more difficult option to mentally realize today, as opposed to during the civil war, for state loyalty no longer preempts that of the country as a whole. But there are many people in red states who see the tyranny of the blue states in the Northeast and West as insurmountable and, as things progress and liberty becomes bound more tightly, they may see this as the only viable option to return at least some part of the nation to the constitution and avoid the calamity that befalls the rest of the nation as a result of straying so far afield of our founding principles.
Whether Senator Obama is elected or not, the march of this country toward socialism will continue, he will merely accelerate the pace to a sprint. What will the great minority of us, those who love liberty and believe in the founders vision, do about it? We will simply protest loudly as we are swallowed up by the relentless march of liberalism? Will we hope that the American people suddenly choose to vote against their immediate self interest and politicians will develop enough backbone to dismantle entrenched bureaucracies and limit their own power? Will some of us escape and seek out some new place where freedom still reigns? Will our coming collapse lead to a new and glorious revolution that returns us to our roots or lead to even darker days? Or will some have the courage to leave the union in an effort to maintain the founder’s original vision and avoid the worst of this great country’s misfortunes? Only time will tell.
Patrick Samuels
www.patricsamuels.com
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