Another presidential election: policy papers, speeches and debates, endorsements, trips to the big primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire, polls on who's up and who's down, attacks and counter-attacks, conventions, and the big day. It's just politics, right? I am going to answer that question, but before I do, we need a short history lesson.
Recorded human history goes back to ancient Chinese Dynasties, the Egyptian Kingdom, the Babylonian Empire, the Greeks, the Romans, the Turks. All are part of our distant past. Most of our history books cover these civilizations only superficially. It is not until the British Empire, of which it was said, "The sun never sets upon the British Empire", that we receive any detailed instruction, for that empire in a sense begins the modern age of man. The time was ripe for a new age, Rome having finally declined into oblivion. Out of the dark ages of the 14th century arose the enlightenment, a period of great expansion in all fields of knowledge spurred on by the invention of the printing press. The energetic peoples of the British Isles took the lead over Spain and France in exploring the globe. All three of these great nations explored our world and contributed especially, to the development of the New World discovered by Columbus. It is in this new world that begins an adventure unlike anything man had ever done before.
The untouched wealth and beauty of the North American continent allowed for an opportunity that could not have happened anywhere else. Prior to this discovery, the people of any civilization were stuck under the rulership of the kings and emperors and tyrants of the times. After all, if you wanted to escape oppression, where could you go? With the settling of a continent far removed from the seat of power however, the chances of surviving a rebellion against a tyrant suddenly became possible. What was previously impossible became reality in the year 1776.
At that point in time, a unique and exceptional group of individuals conceived the idea that all men were created equal, not subject to the whims of other men. They believed that all men had inalienable rights, God given, that could not be taken from them no matter what some ruler would say. That group solemnly pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to secure those rights. Some of them, and many others that followed, did sacrifice their own lives so that a nation could be born and sustained where all men could be free to live as they chose. They died so that a government would exist not for its own sake, but to be a government "of the people, by the people, for the people"! That great concept has been passed on to you and me. If we fail to embrace it and be willing to likewise sacrifice as did others to preserve it, it can be lost. Given the immense military power now available to any modern government, were we to lose our rights, we may find them impossible to ever regain. So, let's jump ahead to the current era beginning with WWII, and see the connection to the political troubles of today.
Unless you are over the age of 75, you do not have any real first-hand knowledge of WWII. That was a war that cost the lives of 60 million people; a war caused by an insane man named Hitler, and a man named Hirohito, regarded by his people as a god. As great a sacrifice as many other nations made in that war, it is indisputable that without America, it could not have ended in the success that it was. When it was over, Americans thought that it could never happen again, but only four short years later, we were again at war, this time in Korea, which thankfully ended quickly.
We Americans are, despite what the critics say, a peacable people. We were tired of war and the young people of those times wanted only to be left alone to build their lives as they saw fit. They elected WWII General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had been the Allied Supreme Commander in the war, as President. The huge industrial engines that produced planes and tanks and guns now churned out washing machines and refrigerators and television sets. Instead of going to war, our parents and grandparents went to work. Tired of war and anxious for the future, they confidently left the workings of government and power to men who had seen enough suffering and whom they felt were honorable and trustworthy, and for the most part, they were.
Nothing lasts forever goes the old saying. No sooner were we all happily going on our way when suddenly we were at war again, this time in another far off land called Viet Nam. This war marks the biggest turning point in our political history, because this time, not everyone was on board for the effort as had been the case in WWII and Korea. The war began as a bail out of the French who no longer had the will to engage in a power struggle in S.E. Asia. Under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, the war expanded. Dissatisfied by it all, the seeming waste of money and the casualties our troops were suffering, America elected Richard Nixon, and soon it became Nixon's war. We can argue all day and night about every aspect of that war, but what is relevant to our discussion is the fact that the war caused a political divisiveness in the nation that has continued right up to this present moment. So, for many of us, when we see the shenanigans going on in the current presidential campaign and politics in general, and not familiar with the unity past generations had during a time of war, we look at it and we think to ourselves, "It's just politics". Unfortunately, that happens to be quite correct. The question we need to be concerned with however, is, are the needs of the country being served and can we afford to allow this election to be about politics; or do we need to focus our attention on leadership?
No sooner had the new 21st Century begun, than we found ourselves at war once again. This time, we sustained a direct attack upon our homeland that took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people. We went to war in Afghanistan, and then Iraq. Sadly, the divisiveness born during the Viet Nam War has exploded into a political division in the nation that has surpassed the bitterness of that time. Our two major political parties are incapable of working together for the common good, stuck in their positions by pride and lust for power. The intense bitterness between the two is causing the government to ignore its responsiblities to solve the many other problems existing today in the nation. Entitlement reforms, health care needs, education, and immigration policy issues are not being dealt with. In the battle for the White House, both parties are putting off making the hard decisions necessary to provide solutions because they fear that to make a stand will cost them votes and the loss of the presidency.
The only way to change this dynamic is to elect a president who is not a member of either party. If we can break the stranglehold that the Democrats and Republicans have on power, we can force the issue of who is in charge off the table and work towards common sense solutions. Its not that we need new ideas to fix the problems. Every topic has been debated endlessly, sent off to commissions for study, and produced reams of reports on this and that action to take. What is missing is leadership from men of character! What is preventing leadership is partisan politics and the the lust for power and fame. And, more importantly, what is causing partisanship is the failure of all of us who have been content to let these elites take control with little regard for the idea that America was born "of the people, by the people, for the people!
The Republican party took control of congress in 1994 after being out of power for 40 years. Empowered with authority and conservative ideals, they worked efficiently to make many needed changes in domestic policies that had been stagnant for a long time. Then they won the presidency again with George W. Bush in 2000. Having full control of the executive and legislative branches of government, they quickly fell into the trap of thinking themselves invulnerable. When the attacks of 9/11 occurred, they were not prepared to provide the leadership necessary to the situation.
President Bush and his team responded quickly and forcefully, quickly routing Al-Qeada terrorists in Afghanistan. Being overly confident, they next invaded Iraq, having the support of both Democrats and fellow Republicans, and intelligence services around the world who were all convinced Saddam Hussein was a major player in the new age of terrorism. Although initially successful, they totally mismanged the followup effort and began the slow slide into political battle with the Democrats.
The additional failure of managing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina began to show the administration as incompetent to lead. Moreover, President Bush turned out be be a poor communicator unable to get any coherent message out to voters about any policy initiatives. His only real victory was the tax cuts, but even that was spoiled by the ever spending profligate policies that he never found the time to veto. His narrow victory in the 2004 election was most likely due to the natural predilection of voters to stick with a President in times of war. By 2006, however, the country had given up on mismanagement and incompetence, and threw out the GOP in favor of the Democrats.
During all this time, the rank and file Republican members of congress had been eagerly engaging in in all sorts of corruption and so contributed to their own demise in 2006, having left behind the values and ideals of the 1994 victory. Since the President is in his final 2 years of office, the party is split in its perception of how to regain power. Having travelled this far down the road with the Bush administration, they now find themselves scattered and divided. They can barely keep party unity on the subject of Iraq, and have no idea who they really think should be their presidential candidate in the 2008 election. The result of all this confusion is a party without any ideals left and no power to initiate any they might actually have. Of course their greatest worry is that in 2008, they will not only lose the presidential election, but also an even larger number of congressional seats than the last time. Such an outcome would put them back "in the wilderness" where they had been for 40 years previously.
Therefore, with no power to forge legislation, and an overly concerned attitude about the next election, the Republican party is providing no leadership. They mistakenly believe that if they win the presidency they will then be able to lead. What makes them think that the American voters are going to give them another chance is a great unanswerable question. In 12 years, after some early impressive victories, they accomplished very little in terms of the lofty ideals for which they were elected and they squandered the Reagan legacy that had first promoted conservative ideas to the forefront of American politics. They seem to be overly proud of the impeachment of President Clinton, but what can they point to in the last 6 years that demonstrates competence and leadership?
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