There are times in history to which we of the present can look and clearly see a turning point, a major event or series of events that alter the course of the world for the worse. If only someone had done this, or if more people had done that, it could have been avoided. Through the lens of time and lessons learned we can shake our heads and feel secure in the knowledge that the same cannot happen to us. We know more, understand more, are more advanced, more free, and less gullible. It cannot happen to us.
Yet here we are. History is being written anew with the same text. It is happening to us.
The United States of America, a once proud nation, is wounded and limping under the burden of a government that is just a shadow of its past. Rarely have our leaders been completely free of corruption, but never have we seen abuse on such a scale as we see today. The damage the ruling regime has brought to the nation will touch Americans for generations to come. As much as we want to believe it to be true, there is no immediate cure for the ailment that afflicts our country.
Yet many know salvation is right around the corner. For them the world is still framed in terms of red and blue, left and right. Some of us voice our complaints, some of us call for action, some of us stand up and take action, but far too many of us ignore the rest while we vote for the next American Idol. It will all be remedied in 2008 when America next takes to the polls. No worries, no concerns. America will sort herself out.
I ask, what happens when the lines of red and blue have blurred? What if the reality of our world is no longer framed in terms of left and right? The all-powerful Republican government was ousted last November by a public deep in discontent. It was the machinations of America’s pseudo-democracy at work, the closest thing there is to true democracy in the world. The Democrats would come to Congress and do the Right Thing. America would sort herself out.
I ask, what has been sorted? What has the Democratic Congress achieved? The State of the Union has not improved. America has not sorted herself out.
While our liberties were eroded, we stood idly by. While our men and women in uniform died, we stood idly by. While the government lied, tortured, and deceived, we stood idly by. We finally spoke out, and loudly, last November. Now, as the Congress we entrusted with sorting it all out continues to bark uselessly while the Executive staunchly avoids any and all accountability, we still find many willing to stand idly by. America will sort herself out next November, they say. I ask, what if she doesn’t?
Tyranny is bred from indifference. History has shown this to those who care to see it. Dictatorships do not come to life overnight, but fester and grow over time. History has shown this to those who care to see it. A leader comes to power, perhaps by force, perhaps by popular vote, perhaps through corruption. He, or those around him, has been patiently waiting for the opportunity, planning and scheming. With the blessing of the people, in the guise of benevolence, he begins to spread his roots and expand his power. It is subtle at first, with few willing to protest. Then he becomes more aggressive, protests increase, and he employs a policy of false appeasement. His popularity decreases. He no longer pretends at benevolence, but asserts his right of authority. His words of appeasement cease and he acts with no regard for public opinion. It is for him to make decisions, to make the rules. It is for the people to be obedient. Such is the birth of a dictator.
The America of today is not the America we knew a decade ago. Who can guarantee that the America of tomorrow will be better? What happens if, come that November day, we do not get the chance to sort things out? You may not see it, you may not believe it, but the United States of America is not too far away from a fate suffered by others who have come before, a fate that once seemed impossible in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Ask yourself, my fellow American, what you will do on November 4, 2008, when you awake to find the polls all closed.
It is never easy to see the turning points of history when you are living them. For us, it may have already come. We may now be on a course that is irreversible. To your great-grandchildren, looking back on our time, it will be clear. They will ask why we didn’t see it, or why we did nothing about it. Perhaps they will curse us. Or, one may hope, perhaps they will have righted our wrongs, achieved what we had not the motivation to.
Or maybe the point has not yet come. Maybe there is still a chance to avert that most terrible of fates, that of living under the thumb of a dictator. We have empowered our Congress to stand up, entrusted them with the duty of setting America straight. So far, they have failed us. When government fails, when it no longer serves the interest of the people, it is the responsibility of the people to change its course. I ask you, are you one who will stand up?
Now can very well be the winter of our discontent, but only if we make it so.
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