Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents, as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate in their burdens.”–George Mason, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 17, 1788
Let’s examine this quote for a moment. What is its meaning?
I might summarize thusly:
Unless each branch of government — Legislative, Judicial, Executive — suffers like the people their decisions affect. . .
Then nothing in Washington or in the halls of each state capital will change.
Both sides of the aisle purposely exclude themselves from most every law they enact, ruling they produce, decision they make. They are insulated by wealth, status, distance and security.
That, you see, is the foundation for the bulk of the problems we in the United States face today.
James Bryce, a British historian and professor, wrote The American Commonwealth in 1888. Bryce argued that the largest threat to personal freedom wasn’t the “tyranny of the majority.” He believed the “fatalism of the multitude” posed a much larger danger; that is to say, as the electorate tends to disengage and disinvest in the system, the door opens to greater corruption and arbitrary rule. As it was once said, local city councils and such are, these days, naught but “training camps” for abuse and dishonesty. For the precise reason I posit above.
We The People have created an elite class, a ruling class, of so-called “civil servants” whose sole purpose is to serve themselves.
Until this changes, nothing else will change.
BZ
Washington, D.C. = Don’t DO what I DO, DO what I SAY do…
Man, you got that right.
BZ
Term limits and a lifetime limit of government service may be the only way to go. Good luck getting that passed.
Shoprat:
That gives me fodder for a future post: What would be the Top FIVE “first moves” to set this nation back on course?
BZ
BZ,
Both sides of the aisle purposely exclude themselves from most every law they enact, ruling they produce, decision they make. They are insulated by wealth, status, distance and security.
That, you see, is the foundation for the bulk of the problems we in the United States face today.
You’re spot on.
I’ve never heard it put quite the way you have.
Our so-call “elected public servants” now regard themselves as deserving of special treatment forever because they are elitists — a de facto oligarchy. They need to be taken down several pegs!
Ah, there is that telling piece…
“On two subjects only does the Constitution recognize in Congress the power to grant exclusive privileges or monopolies. It declares that “Congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” Out of this express delegation of power have grown our laws of patents and copyrights. As the Constitution expressly delegates to Congress the power to grant exclusive privileges in these cases as the means of executing the substantive power ” to promote the progress of science and useful arts,” it is consistent with the fair rules of construction to conclude that such a power was not intended to be granted as a means of accomplishing any other end. On every other subject which comes within the scope of Congressional power there is an ever-living discretion in the use of proper means, which can not be restricted or abolished without an amendment of the Constitution. Every act of Congress, therefore, which attempts by grants of monopolies or sale of exclusive privileges for a limited time, or a time without limit, to restrict or extinguish its own discretion in the choice of means to execute its delegated powers is equivalent to a legislative amendment of the Constitution, and palpably unconstitutional.”
Yes the Fed and Fannie and Freddie… and the government now exercising power and ownership rights over real property in the States without their consent. That is ignoring the Constitution.
That is tyranny from expediency.
We used to know better.
AJ: and, if you read between the lines, OBAMA’s admin is allowing it ALL to happen AGAIN.
WHEN will it STOP??
BZ
AOW: now, PLEASE, take this theme or concept and then RUN with it on your OWN blog!!
Make your OWN interpretation and then make it WELL known and into the PUBLIC!
BZ
2 words
T E R M L I M I T S ! ! !
Outstanding post
BZ said: “We The People have created an elite class, a ruling class, of so-called “civil servants” whose sole purpose is to serve themselves.”
That sounds about right to me. And, any politician who actually goes to D.C. to effect change is quickly “turned” or booted out at the next election. How did we come to this?
Yes, Mr. Z, he is, but he had a lot of help getting there over the past few decades. Each time the federal government ‘helps’ the middle class with medicare, FHA, or even trying to ‘manage’ the money system, it has turned sour. Medicare is now going insolvent, as is SSN, FHA has turned into a political crony system rewarding those able to strong arm banks into making bad loans with the ability to lobby congress to get the rules changed to do that, and the Federal Reserve has caused more problems than it has solved devaluing our currency steeply since it was put into place, and yet for over 100 years before that we had a currency that kept its value.
That is not ‘help’.
Government ‘help’ like that is horrific in the control it puts into fewer and fewer hands.
The Left loves to point to this ‘help’ as it is a form of bribery to get more votes from those they ‘help’, so that more and more can be vested in the least accountable part of our government which is at the highest level. Mind you the Right has done its share to curry favor and hand out goodies…
And now the price comes due and the Left can say those that are on the Right didn’t do enough… save those of us who did speak up about insane fiscal policy, but we never got one iota of help from those looking to use taxpayer money to pay off political friends and machines to get elected. I did, indeed, complain about health care expansion, NCLB, Dept. of Ag. corporate welfare, the boondoggle that is Education and the worse one that is Energy.
You cannot achieve ‘good’ ends through these means no matter how nice you are. In fact if you ARE nice you are more likely to get swindled by not being suspicious of those running the means at hand to get to such ‘good’ ends. Those ends do not justify these means.
Both sides of the aisle purposely exclude themselves from most every law they enact, ruling they produce, decision they make. They are insulated by wealth, status, distance and security.
That, you see, is the foundation for the bulk of the problems we in the United States face today.
So true! Very good post, BZ.
The level of misguided stupidity exhibited here astounds me at times. Well, most of the time.
Previous Anonymous: your words might ring more true if a bunch of Fortunate Sons had served in Viet Nam, if Senators had to bargain for their health care on the open market, if gov’t officials were routinely prosecuted for acts that any “normal” person would be.
excellent point, BZ………
I love your idea from Shoprat’s comment…TOP FIVE..DO IT!
Um..BZ….I think #1 is “Obama’s got to go” ……..only 3 1/2 years; you can ruin a country pretty darned well in that amount of time; look what he’s done in 8 months.
Only a complete fucking idiot would think that our country started its downward spiral within the last 8 months, let me repeat, a complete fucking idiot.
Don’t like Obama, I understand. Do not accept him as your President, I also completely understand. Why don’t people just come out and say that?
This downward spiral started way before Obama and only a complete fucking idiot would ever think otherwise.