In case you missed it Donald Trump claimed that as president he has "total authority" and that "that is the way it's gotta be" in a news conference yesterday. Today, there are no mass protests, no marching on Washington, D.C. while keeping with social distancing standards. There is no public outrage as far as I can see. There is no figurative middle finger being extended by the cowering governors of most states in our country. There is nothing. And it makes sense.
Did any of us really believe this guy has ever read the U.S. Constitution, much less believes in it?
Does it really matter if he has read it, or remotely cares about it?
Well, no, it does not.
The American people have proven to be all too willing to subjugate themselves to the omnipresent, all-knowing, all powerful government - at every level.
I just finished grading an all-essay exam for my roughly 200 students at Valencia. One of the questions asked them to consider the proper role of government in a market-based economy during a pandemic and to discuss our rights as Americans within the context of dealing with the Covid-19 virus. It was sickening to read that the vast - and I do mean vast - majority of my students want the government to go even farther than it has in protecting us from the possibility of sickness. Most of my students - and dare I say most Americans - are all too willing and ready for the federal government to declare some form of economic and social martial law and strip us of our rights until we are all safe from this virus. They want government to use force to keep people inside and not let them move about somewhat freely as is currently the case. They are in favor of jailing people who are caught outside. They want government to step in and provide -with no end in sight - the greatest expansion of social welfare spending anyone has ever seen.
Most shocking is that my students and their fellow Americans, have imminent faith in the ability of politicians to make these decisions. They seem, during this grave crisis, to revere elected officials as some sort of secular gods with perfect knowledge of when to say "all clear" and perfect foresight into what measures must be taken and what enforcement mechanisms would be most appropriate.
I am reminded of the French economist, Frederic Bastiat, who, in 1849 wrote a book called, The Law. Towards the end of this book he writes:
“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?”
Which brings us to Donald Trump and his claim of total authority. If we live in a nation of people who are largely recipients of the gift of liberty and who, with the exception of people nearing 100 years of age - have not had to fight to defend this gift, how can we possibly see that Donald Trump -and other government officials - are simply doing what all politicians do. That is, during times of crisis, we see those in power push the boundaries of that power in order to expand the size and scope of their authority. Lincoln suspended many of our Constitutional rights during the Civil War. FDR oversaw the internment of Americans who happened to be of Japanese descent. George W. Bush used September 11th to justify the Patriot Act. President Obama used the last financial crisis to push through Constitutionally questionable banking and health care laws and so on.
Now we get to a president, who appears to be a classic narcissist - and one whose core supporters do not seem to interested in limiting his authority. What else should we expect but to see him claim total authority? He knows his supporters will ignorantly cheer him on. He knows the rest of us will not put on our masks and take to the streets. He knows that maybe 1/2 of one percent of Americans even know what the Constitution says about presidential power and that not even 1/2 of one percent care about what Alexander Hamilton called, "this frail and worthless fabric."
Therefore, if history records that the acceleration of Americans slide into a despotic state began during the 2020 pandemic, it will be because of overwhelming ignorance of what our Founding Fathers gave us - and apathy to what it means - that will be the primary cause.
You hit the nail on the head with that "imminent faith in the ability of politicians" problem. When I took your Macroeconomics class at VC, much of what you tried to teach me didn't fully "sink in" until after our class had ended. For your sanity's sake, I hope those new students of yours learn much faster than I did! Thanks for posting these blogs now and again. Your perspective is refreshing and much needed. - Beverly M.
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