Crossroads to a Crossroads…Republic or Empire
The fever that people have come to about George Bush does not address the real dilemma that faces the American people. The reasons that others state for their objection to the Bush Administration policies are not a new phenomenon. Most screams about his “abuse of power” are seen as silly because Americans are either used to Presidents acting as Bush does or they recognize the hypocrisy of those making the charges. The yells that Bush was terrible for not working through the UN during the latest Iraq War have fallen mostly upon deaf ears for two reasons. #1-Americans see the UN as ineffectual and corrupt (a wise belief). #2-They also know that the very people who were asking Bush to place the national security of the US in the hands of the UN were the same people who stayed silent or supported Bill Clinton as he ordered the launch of numerous missile attacks into Iraq as well as Sudan and Afghanistan. What has been lost in the frenzy of Bush bashing is the fact that we are only seeing the symptoms of a greater virus that has infected the United States. The greater virus is the usurpation of power from the legislature to the lesser representative branches of the American government, the Courts and the Executive Branch. This devolution of power from the peoples representative body, Congress to the less representative branches will lead to the break-up of the American Republic as we know it. Today we see that the great questions that occupy the minds of Americans are no longer debated in the halls of Congress. Instead we have courts dictating law as they have with Abortion and Presidents waging War with out Declarations of War by Congress as with Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and again in Iraq. If the American people are not careful we will never again have the choice to go to war or legislate laws. This is not the case now but the erosion of the Republic is well at hand.
The Founders of the American Republic were avid students of the classics and understood the Roman Republic. They understood that Americans have a great deal in common with Romans. Both civilizations were founded as colonies of other great civilizations (Troy to Rome, Britain to the US). Both exceeded their mother civilizations in power and influence. Therefore the American founders studied Rome because they wanted to avoid the problems that led to the downfall of the Roman Republic, and led to the Imperial Tyranny. What they understood, and many people today forget is that Great Republics are not conquered from outside forces, they are destroyed from within. Thus, the declines of Republics take time, they do not occur over night. This was true of Rome; this will be true of the United States. The decline of the American Republic will not come under the rule of George Bush, nor will it come under his successor or even his successors successor. Instead it will come as the American people become more and more tolerant of the less democratic branches of government becoming more and more powerful over time. This was true of Rome itself.
We now see that the courts, the most undemocratic branch of our republican form of government are imposing rule against the peoples will. For instance, we currently have a situation where a state supreme court ordered the state legislature to pass a bill allowing for gay marriage. Since when do courts have such a right? The republican form of government allows for co-equal branches of government, not superiority of the courts. The peoples house is being ignored and in many cases dominated by the other branches. This was true during the Terry Schivo case. The courts simply thumbed their nose at Congress. This must stop if we are to preserve the Republic. Specific issues demonstrate the need to fight tyranny of the Judiciary and the Executive. The most debated and divisive issue in American politics is Abortion. This issue would go away tomorrow if the people were able to decide upon the law rather than have activist courts dictate what they are to do. It goes against the republican instincts of Americans to have no voice in such a controversial issue. This should have been decided as a States rights issue under the 10th amendment instead of the Supreme Court finding rights in the Constitution that were not clearly spelled out. If the people of Utah do not want Abortion or Gay Marriage they should be able to prevent those institutions. If the people of Massachusetts want these institutions they should be able to.
Another sign of an emerging empire is a rather un-American aggression in foreign policy. We have strayed very far from the founders’ belief in allowing Europe’s problems to be their own and to stay out of foreign entanglements. It is true that we no longer live in the same world as they did. It is true that we should use our influence when it is necessary for our national interest but we have gone too far. Our foreign policy is becoming more and more aggressive and is laying the foundations for hostility toward our nation from nations that would otherwise be allies. Our current policies are causing suspicion at the least and objection at the most with the majority of people throughout the world. This is due to the change in attitude toward the rest of the world. No longer do we see the world through the republican lens, instead we throw weight around as an empire would. Let us look at the current encirclement of Russia that is occurring. Since the fall of the Soviet Union the United States has begun to form a cordon sanataire around Russia. This is being done through the expansion of NATO and through the propping up of friendly regimes in traditionally Russian dominated areas. Ukraine and Georgia are examples of this movement. In the last ten years the Russians have had to accept NATO expanding up to its frontiers and is powerless to do anything about it. This again is being done by both Republican and Democratic administrations. Both parties do this under the banner of furthering democracy. The spread of democracy is a wonderful thought but is against our national heritage. We should as our founders argued, support democracy where we can but not engage in foreign entanglements.
This has caused a significant strain in our relationship with Russia. Let me state that there are few greater targets of Islamic terror than Russia. Russia could be a strategic ally in the current war on terrorism but has instead been made to take a stance against American policy due to the aggression of the last two Administrations. Americans are unaware of this and are uninterested when told about the movements of our government and how we are making enemies for future generations. When Russia begins to reassert itself Americans will be told that they are to fight a defensive war against Russian aggression but will not know that the ground work for that aggression was planted throughout the last 10 years. Again, looking to history we see that Roman citizens were always told that their wars were defensive. Thus pre-emptive war was an easy option for them.
George Washington understood the parallels of the two great Republics more than any other person of his time. His Presidency was modeled after the Roman virtues of Cincinnatus. Cincinnatus was appointed dictator of Rome for six months during a war with the Aequi, a neighboring city-state. He raised an army, defeated the Aequi and saved Rome. He then relinquished power and returned to his farm. The selflessness and reluctance to power were not lost on Washington (He later founded the Order of the Sons of Cincinnatus). He like Cincinnatus guided his young nation through a time of extreme crisis (the American Revolution), established the Republic and retired to his farm at Mount Vernon. The precedent was set. Presidents were to enjoy great power during times of crisis but were expected to withdraw from power after two terms in a peaceful transition of power and were to guide the Republic through crisis not for personal glory but for preservation of and dedication to the Republic.
Presidents throughout history are bound by traditions set by Washington but history has eroded those traditions to our present state. We must remember that Republics do not fall necessarily for insidious reasons. The erosion of the foundations of the Republic and the devolution of power to the Executive and Judicial branches has occurred for very altruistic reasons. One major crisis was that brought this about was the American Civil War. The Constitutional rights of Americans were suspended during the war, and the Executive Branch asserted itself in the form of Abraham Lincoln as the dominant force in the American government. Senators were deported to the Confederacy for opposition to the war and the other branches of government were ignored if they got in the way of conducting the war. This was all done for very altruistic reasons, to preserve the Union and free the Slaves. However, another precedent was set for the fledgling Republic. Throughout the next 142 years the centralized government has become more of a factor in American life and the President has become more powerful than the founders intended. It should be noted that this erosion has come from all sides of the political spectrum. Republicans are guilty of it as are Democrats.
For the most part the leaders of the Republic have been well meaning men, who have the best interest of the Republic in mind. However, this will not always be the case. When will the American Caesar appear? Let us not forget that when Caesar entered Rome it was believed that he was her savior. We see now that he did not enter Rome with her best interest in mind but his own.
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