All power can be dangerous and easily abused. Political power is egregiously so. Centralized political power by leaders without principles or character is the worst case of all. We saw examples of the latter with the rise of leaders such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Saddam Hussein, and lesser lights like Castro, Hugo Chavez, and others of that ilk. While these cases are extreme, they indicate the validity of Lord Acton’s dictum that “…absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In our own country, we have seen the abuse of political power ever since the rise of political parties in the 1790s. Through our system of checks-and-balances, the oversight of We the People, and the presence of the several sovereign states, America has been able to mitigate somewhat these recurring abuses of political power. That national strength is waning and fast disappearing.
The abuse of political power in America reached one of its pinnacles in the four terms of President Roosevelt right before World War II with his New Deal legislation. President Johnson took his turn at bat with continuing the Vietnam War started by President Kennedy and initiating the Great Society programs, including the War on Poverty. The 21st Century saw President Bush’s invasion of Iraq and the related wars in the Middle East, followed by the championing of Obamacare by President Obama in 2010.
I believe political and intellectual elites have been less than honest and forthright with the American people throughout much of the 20th Century. Moreover, they continue to do so in the first two decades of the 21st Century.
What You Can Do: A Call to Action
How does any concerned citizen combat these political and intellectual elites who continue to dictate to the American people their wrong-headed ideas and their ill-conceived public policies? The only way forward I see is for Americans to become much more informed regarding the political issues of the day and by becoming more fully engaged in their role as citizens. It is only by becoming informed and knowledgeable, and by studying and understanding the ideas that created America that we stand united. Remember, “E Pluribus Unum” (Out of many, one) is still one of our national mottos.
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