Our Most Noble Institution

Someone once commented that the United States has the most curious form of government on earth: "Every four years they elect a king." This was never more true than it is during the current election cycle, when we are trying desperately to elect a king -- or queen -- and thus set, once again, a shining example, of which the rest of the world can only stand in awe, of true democracy in action. The question, of course, is not "who decides", but "who decides who decides", or as Lenin cynically put it, not who votes but who counts the votes. I honestly don't know who set this parade of clowns before us, advertising it as a "choice", but they must have had a thoroughly perverse sense of humor. Now, from my political standpoint, the "choice" is, or was, really quite simple -- it's Ron Paul vs. "All Other", and with Ron Paul's quixotic but all-important candidacy fading into memory, it's more important than ever to keep his ideas alive and in the public forum. And his ideas are, quite simply, archetypical American ideas, which have been obscured through countless layers of socialism, collectivism, and now "nannyism". How far we have come, when the only candidate who preached common sense is thought of as an outlier, a radical, a "holy fool". And how complacent we are whenever we mouth the words, "You can't turn back the clock." Well, in fact, you _can_ turn back the clock. It has been done in the past, and it will be done in the future -- by someone, somewhere, for good or ill. But it takes courage and a willingness to risk all that we currently hold dear -- things like knowing that the government will always be there to provide "three hots and a cot", even if that requires going to jail. The amazing thing about this country is that we are still full of bluster and assertiveness, and a kind of shopworn patriotism, but at the same time we are so soft and passive and compliant. Which of these defines the "national character" at this time? I say, all the above. Can the situation persist? It's hard to see how. Eventually, one of these vectors will take over, and I fear it is the "soft, fat, and lazy" one. And believe me, there are plenty of people out there waiting very patiently, like cartoon vultures sitting on a dead tree, for our weaknesses to become irrevocable, at which point they may strike -- assuming the process has not already begun. Our old adversary, Russia, is, of course, first in line, followed very closely by a relatively new adversary, China. What distinguishes these entities is that they are cold, ruthless, and _very_ patient -- i.e. the exact opposite of the brash, impulsive, and idealistic habits of Americans, as individuals or in the aggregate. Each new instance of our "political correctness" and zeal for apologizing -- to everyone, all the time, for everything under the sun -- gives them renewed hope that we will collapse from our own weight and provide a very temporary vacuum which they will gleefully rush in and fill. And I am not claiming that they hate, or even especially dislike, us. They must have a grudging admiration for the fact that we did, indeed, "win" the Cold War (AKA World War III). But they also see our relative helplessness in the face of Islamic militarism, and the chaotic and ambivalent way in which we fight the so-called "War on Terror" (AKA World War IV). Every time we trip and fall, another round of chuckles bubbles up from the Kremlin and the Forbidden City. Do we expect a frontal attack? No. The "Fulda Gap" days are long gone, our missile silos are being converted into hip dwellings for yuppies, and who on earth has even heard of Quemoy and Matsu? (I myself purchased some of the very first canned products to be imported from China -- something called "pickled vegetable". It wasn't half bad. And who wouldn't walk a mile for a tin of Russian caviar?) No -- the current posture is that of a lazy bull (or pair thereof) waiting in a sunlit pasture for the ripe fruit to finally fall from the tree. (OK -- bulls or vultures, I know. Take your pick.) The war of today is being fought on largely economic fronts -- and our addiction to foreign oil is only one of many chinks in our formerly-shiny armor. We are also addicted to "diversity" -- and "rights" -- and "being nice". And they just laugh. On the day I was born, we were fighting both Germany and Japan, and on the verge of beating them both. "Unconditional surrender!" was the cry. Today we are reduced to bribing scruffy warlords in the Hindu Kush to _not_ attack our equally scruffy "allies" in the capital a few hundred kilometers away. And we are playing den mother to a bunch of ill-tempered kindergartners in the Near East, who have been fighting each other since Old Testament days when our own ancestors were spearing carp in the North Sea from canoes made of compressed elk dung. And guess what, we aren't doing all that well! A few old, unrepentant Nazis and neo-samurai must be looking on with longing: "If these people had been this clueless back then..." Thus, the rise and fall of _all_ civilizations, and we are not immune to history. "Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair." Wasn't this inscribed on the base of the WTC towers? This is, I submit, closer to the real situation than any of the bogus "issues" that seem to obsess our candidates and their supporters. And yet the charade goes on...