Rethinking Rushed Writings

A reader sent me one of my older articles last week. I try to think timeless with my writing—I do. Often, I post for myself, to remember, to process, caring little if the piece lands. I have entire sections of this site dedicated to resolving how fallible my own memory can be. The Great Speeches section receives few hits compared to the rest—few care about Washington’s Resignation Speech or the Peace Prayer.

But I do.

I revisit them again when the spark finds me. Or when I need a refresher on values—the times where great figures in history stood up and made the right decision. History tends to make the nuance fall away, making these moments feel perhaps easier than they really were.

This article by my own hand, Democracy Slays Despots, I remembered because of its political nature. I try not to wade into these waters without careful thought. January 6th struck a chord with me—a line had been crossed. I treasure historic buildings because there’s meaning in those dusty stones. I cried when Notre Dame burned. So yes—watching the Confederate and Nazi flags storm our Nation’s Capitol—anger got the better of me. Forgiveness? Sure. Yet, those people should live in shame, forever. And so should the man who planned that farce.

Slightly enraged, perhaps more annoyed, I channeled my inner Alexander Hamilton.

Few study the Federalist papers. Me? I read a series in high school and, on occasion, review the highlights. AI and Wikipedia summaries don’t do the pieces justice. I find our founding fathers spoke passionately—when reading, listen for the rhythm, the cadence of a craft long forgotten. Today, we have a threading or tweeting or insta-ing tradition. Back then, they had the town square stump with real bodies meandering about, and the hurried pen and quill.

I channeled this imagined feeling and belted out a piece. I’m still proud of it; yet, part of me wonders: Did I get this all wrong? Donald J. Trump pulled off one of the more remarkable political comebacks in American history. Only in America can you pay off a porn star right before an election, funnel the money through a sordid tabloid, and come out somewhat clean. I know, he did nothing wrong—it takes some hubris there. I guess John Edwards was the pioneer; he’s not in jail. Trump took it next level.

I wrestle with all this because my generation blew it. We were teased by Silicon Valley wealth, Atlas Shrugged principles, technological wonders, and, somewhere along the yellow brick road, lost our way. We were supposed to cherish our government and serve our country. To be the examples our parents wanted us to be for the downtrodden. Maybe it wasn’t about any of that; we should want competent government. Instead, some became distracted with the tumultuous life or the playground wars or took the Benjamins. Maybe that’s the American way.

No, my article wasn’t wrong—I have zero plans to take it down because I like to think in decades. There is still time. For now, we remain stuck with our choices, that’s how this works, and I hope the rightfully elected gives America everything we asked for, if only, we had paid attention to what was promised.

We looked the other way.

And so here we are on a Jacksonian-style grievance tour. That’s probably all this will be, I hope, assuming we survive the incompetence. Government jobs aren’t what plays out on Twitter. Most conspiracies about fraud have been just that, the stories we tell ourselves. As for Trump, I hope the decades will unfold a fitting outcome. I once toured Jackson’s home; the estate ultimately went bankrupt after his death, forcing his family to scatter.

So, I’ll try this again, of course, channeling my inner Alexander Hamilton, with a little Federalist 51 sprinkled on top.¹ That man did write like he was running out of time.²

Lamentations and Warnings

Shall we allow our Republic, so dearly wrought by our founding father’s sacrifice, to be undone by those who prattled of progress yet squandered the public trust? I do not mean the Party of Lincoln, I speak of the so-called sacred Donkey. They claimed to be a beacon of principle yet succumbed to the siren song of transient power whims, casting aside the prudence of sound economic doctrine in favor of fantastical fiction about conjuring trillion dollar coins, soaring debts as mere trifles to be squandered, and the laws of trade and industry no more than an inconvenience.

Why not suspend parliamentary procedures to pass bloated spending bills? 50-50? No matter, break the tie, money for everyone, it be decreed now and forevermore.

They corrupted our universities’ reputations, once hallowed halls of learning, allowing foreign gold to stain their integrity. Yes, the sheer amount of money is staggering–turns out, leaders do have a price.

Worse, they turned their gaze admiringly upon nations that stifle invention, muzzle ambition, and yield to lethargy whilst scorning the land that gave them a voice. The place that gives them freedom—the land of opportunity, no matter its history.

They abandoned the idea of merit, seeking instead to mold society by the heavy hand of legislation; opportunity is no longer earned but apportioned by fiat. Victors and vanquished alike chosen through executive orders and funding loopholes.

In their follies, they ceded power, not merely to foreign adversaries through botched withdrawals, but to a self-proclaimed demagogue now re-elected.

His dominion grows unchecked, for the faction that might oppose them has lost its bearings, some say its very soul.

And so, the duly elected picks only those who say yes. We’ve given way to foreign assets and bullies with third-grade style revenge lists.

And whatever we want to call a man who prattled around with bear carcasses—the confirmed leader of Health and Human Services, whose past is littered with the ruin of both kin and compatriots.³

He led his own brother to destruction.

He, whose early cruelty knew no boundaries, tormented his cousins with birds and blender.

He continues to peddle falsehoods as though they were truth, whispering poison into the ears of desperate parents, turning them against the advances of medicine, and leaving their children to perish for his own profit to be gained in a courtroom.

He denies the sufferings of the afflicted, preys upon the credulous, and spreads lunacy with the fervor of a false prophet cast from the Old Testament.

And what should have been an easy vote instead sailed through with cheers—only a polio survivor stood up to say not qualified.

Now, the value-less party wants to cast away checks and balances through national emergency declarations that don’t exist, removing entire departments without even knowing what they do or their function. Devil and merit hide in six-point font but why bother? Why look? Just fire and move on. Break and see what needs fixed.

Sadly, the previous party in power cracked the door open with illegal loans and other nonsense. The current will try to move fast and kick it all down.

If the world were filled with angels, no government would be necessary. But we are not angels; we are creatures of ambition, driven by interest, swayed by passion, and too often seduced by the lure of power. It’s folly to entrust anyone with authority unchecked, just as it is folly to shackle them so completely that they cannot act decisively. The genius of our Constitution is that it recognizes both the necessity of power and the danger of its abuse. It does not simply restrain—it refines. It does not merely divide—it directs.

We should cherish our governance model, not bemoan its structure. Or create fantasies using executive orders. Worse, send demons and bullies, both real and imagined, to one’s homes to say, Do this or else.

A government of divided powers is not a feeble one; each branch tempers ambition, ensuring that no singular faction, no fleeting passion, and no despotic hand may usurp our rights.

It’s easy for those in power to say the rules should be changed for certain outcomes. But shall these deeds be excused, treacheries overlooked? If so, the fault lies not with the autocrats, but with a nation too willing to tolerate it. The means do matter.

And so I ask, what shall remain of us, should this descent continue? If the party once entrusted to balance power continues to drift rudderless out of fear, if the people tolerate corruption for want of an alternative, what remains but a government of swindlers, a court of jesters, a nation unmoored from its founding principles?

Yes, I know. These thoughts are perilous, dark, and even foreboding.

But when one party doesn’t execute, giving Americans a culture they never wanted, what are we left with? Charlatans and grifters and cheats?

Yes, I do forgive them all. That’s the American way. Yet, I don’t condone these actions. No one should.

Demand better.

We deserve it. And I’d like to believe hope remains for those willing to step into the arena.

Footnotes