Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Historical Perspective

As Barack Obama struggles to move ahead with his desire to transform America into a fully Socialist state, there's a sort of inevitability to his power grab that is consistent with history.

Societies were led by kings throughout history.  Kings were leaders who achieved their power by being stronger and/or smarter than the rest of their tribe.  And for most of human history, a king was nothing but a tribal chieftain or warlord. 

The idea of a democratic republic seems to have originated with the Greeks.  But their unique form of government didn't last long, as they became complacent and sex-obsessed once they achieved the prosperity that the government they conceived practically guarantees for every country that's tried it.  So their historic experiment in representative government crumbled from within, making it easy for the Romans to defeat and enslave them.

The Romans tried to apply what the Greeks learned, but failed miserably.  The assassination of Julius Caesar was their last, desperate attempt to preserve their representative republic against a reversion to the dictatorship of kings (or in their case, emperors).  By executing their first emperor, they merely delayed the inevitable consolidation of power to the next strongman emperor. 

Pax Romana lasted longer, but also crumbled from within because of complacency, corruption, and sex obsession.

It took over a millennium before America rose from the ashes of Rome to inherit the mantle of representative government.  And America prospered spectacularly for 200 years.  But just like the Greeks and Romans, Americans also became corrupt and complacent and sex-obsessed.  And the greatest, most prosperous nation in the history of the planet is crumbling from within in front of our eyes.

The Socialist Obama may imagine that he's ushering in a more "fair" society by using the power of government to punish the rich and reward the poor.  But history also provides a clear message for what happens when the Socialists and Communists take over.  Brutal dictatorships take control and murder or imprison the dictator's political rivals.  They install tyrannical kings as leaders, but instead of calling them kings or emperors, they call them General Secretaries and Presidents and Premiers. 

Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro consolidated power, nationalizing all businesses and killing or imprisoning any who object.  They keep most of the confiscated wealth for themselves and their inner circle, then dole out just enough to the poor citizens to make sure they establish and maintain total dependence to stave off revolution.

Ronald Reagan's "Shining City on a Hill" is crumbling and turning gray.  Detroit is leading the way, with Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to follow very soon.  The complacent citizens are now adopting an attitude of hopelessness, lacking the emergence of true leaders who are able to inspire them to reclaim America's greatness.

The destruction of America now seems inevitable.  My generation is to blame.  Our entitled children demand government handouts, murder their own children, and refuse to take responsibility for themselves and their own families. 

Maybe Obama will succeed, or maybe some Republican will slow the destruction by replacing him for a few short years.  But I see no evidence that America can produce a leader who will lead us out of the mess created by my generation.  Either Obama will become our next dictator or someone else in his party will.  I'm sure Hilary is salivating at the prospect of being the first major world dictator who is female.

The only question that remains to be answered is how many of us will be executed and imprisoned in the purge to come?

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