Volume 5, Issue 7
Most of us have seen a circus sometime in our life. The idea of three rings was to provide maximum entertainment. Three simultaneous performances were almost more than a single spectator could absorb. When the main event was presented, the circus ringmaster would bring everyone’s attention to the center ring. It might be the flying trapeze artist, the lions and tigers, or the Austrian horses. One always felt comfort in all the frenetic activity that management was in control of the show.
Why have the histrionics of American politics become a literal three-ring circus?
Progressives have not accepted the compromise of the ballot box. Protests have been organized immediately to disrupt President Trump’s commitment to follow through on campaign promises. They argue that conservatives also opposed and impeded President Barack Obama in his efforts to implement his policies. There is one great difference. Conservatives do not rely upon government. They depend upon the individual and the private sector. Government to conservatives is a facilitator of free enterprise. Progressives rely upon government for the order of society, and expect the private sector and individuals to comply with the collective policy that government renders. Republicans confirmed President Obama’s Cabinet in a reasonable time frame. They were not fearful of President Obama taking charge of government. President Obama did meet resistance in debate on his polices, but he was not denied the reins of government. Democrats appear fearful of allowing President Trump to take his full control as head of the Executive Branch. They are not debating policy as much as denying him governmental access. Constitutionally then, Republicans did accept the compromise of the ballot box. Democrats have not.
The media continues to pursue sensational and incendiary issues and ignore the critical need for coverage of ongoing issues of state. There is very little discussion enhanced by the media germane to the structural complications of U.S. domestic and foreign policy.
President Trump has taken a totally divergent path in government management. Instead of letting government run the process, and attempting to bring discipline to government through business procedures, he is running government as a business, challenging constitutional balances of government protocol to bring a business attitude in line with governmental implementation of policy. President Trump’s management style is, in fact, exacerbating progressives’ fear of granting him access to control. Progressives fear that President Trump will change government more than government changes him. In the past, government bureaucrats have always been able to rein in the well-meaning intentions of conservatives to limit government powers. President Trump, by decree, is committed to breaking this cycle of government business as usual.
Hollywood celebrities are now offering their personal views on specific issues as diverse as immigration, health care, and foreign policy. They are vocal in their opinions regardless of whether they have any standing or expertise on these matters. The issues they seldom address are the national debt, world debt in general, and the unsustainability of deficits. They add to the circus by speaking to issues in the specific without any regard for or relationship to the aggregate need of overall strategic policy.
Social media allows those who feel strongly about a single issue to tweet their hearts out in support of the celebrities they so admire. They do this without any consideration for the collective impact of single issues on the population in general. President Trump participates in this phenomenon of social media by offering his own consistent tweets.
Foreign theaters of concern, including North Korea, China, Russia, the Middle East, Europe, and Mexico, add to the melee by testing America’s convictions to past policy commitments. The United States of America is the strongest military force in the world. It is this military presence that keeps rogue nations from intervening with or attacking their neighbors. A three-ring circus may be distracting. Things can happen outside of the view of the three rings by design.
At the circus, the ringmaster directs attention for the transition of acts. The show is scripted, but most importantly, it is not reality. It is an escape from reality. What’s happening in our country today is that the circus has become reality from which there is no escape.
What is necessary to bring control to the circus?
It is imperative that every American understands and commits to a belief that the United States of America stands for something greater than a single issue or personal cause. It stands for universal liberty. Progressives decry that it is easier for some of privilege to believe in eternal principles than for others who have been, in their opinion, oppressed. One only has to look at Frederick Douglass, an example of one who was oppressed and found moral purpose in the Constitution. He was one of the greatest Americans who ever lived.
Frederick Douglass once lamented that his slave masters had whipped every conviction of patriotism out of him. But upon reading and contemplating the words of the Constitution, he came to the conclusion that it represented eternal principles that all Americans must embrace. He believed in America, founded on liberty, which established the process of democracy that leads to righteousness for all mankind. He pursued his cause, defended his creed, and was a major force in the abolition of slavery. Through his eloquent speeches, he defended America as the great hope for societies of the world.
Now more than ever, we need leaders to direct our attention to the real heartbeat of the democratic process - that protocol wherein we seek righteousness, whether progressives or conservatives, Republicans or Democrats. The freedom to pursue our creeds must be protected and we must be led by our obligation to value principles that bind us as a culture. The normalcy of the circus depends on the belief that the show is under control and produced for our benefit.
At this time in our history, we need Frederick Douglasses, individual leaders committed to eternal principles, to give Americans confidence that democracy, as we are experiencing it, is exercised to produce and will result in liberty for the benefit of all.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?