Americans don’t have the luxury of cynicism
There is a cynicism amongst Americans when one reads or hears people say “impeachment is political” or “we’re already an oligarchy.” This cynicism is an attitude that at best is unproductive, at worst is dangerous. For cynicism is always a choice of powerlessness.
And at this time in history we need to all stand up and stand in our power. Our real power.
The sports analogy
In sports, there are rules. A team in the middle of a game doesn’t get to re-write the rules. Bring in their own referees. Start calling the shots. That’s out of bounds. The entire profession would fall apart if everyone stopped playing by the rules.
Rules create boundaries. Give us direction. Order. Value. Sure, rules are just lines in the sand. The lines themselves do nothing. It is our agreement with their meaning that provides their value. It is by agreement we define what is in bounds and out of bounds. It is players and referees agreeing to follow the rules that makes the game work. Makes it fun.
Our civil society works the same way. Citizen players and referee governors make the laws. Laws keep us and our things safe. In the United States, which has traits of both a constitutional democracy and a democratic republic, our founders were careful to write laws that protect citizens from its governors.
History has proven time and time again that human beings are weak. Tempted by power, humans will grab it and rewrite the rules. Take power from everybody else. Plato warned that Democracies if not tempered by rules will devolve into tyranny.
So a set of rules called due process evolved: methods of bringing evidence, calling witnesses, how prosecutors are to act, how defenders are to act, how adjudicators are to select jurors, run a trial, and so forth. Rules of law. Civilly established. Such rules create civilizations and go all the way back to the Magna Carta in 1215. Our wise founders considered the Magna Carta “a potent symbol of liberty and the natural rights of man against an oppressive or unjust government.”
This is why cynicism that “impeachment is political” is SO WRONG HEADED!
The Highest Law of the Land
The U.S. Constitution is not only the highest law of the land. It has also served as a model for dozens, maybe hundreds of other countries around the world — more than half of which are democracies.
The U.S. Constitution is a model of decency, evolution, and progress. For there to be a peaceful transference of power from one presidency to the next — that is incredible!
Americans today seem to have no clue as to how precious and unprecedented in history, when George Washington stepped down at the end of his term and handed the reins to the next guy.
He and all the other presidents after him, handed over the reins of power. REGARDLESS OF PARTY.
In fact, Washington warned us in his Farewell Address about the dangers of the rise of political parties.
George Washington had much to say to us, today, at the end of his term, looking ahead to the future. I urge all who have ears to hear and a mind to listen to take the time — 45 minutes — to do so.
Representatives of the people are to vest their faith and trust in a SYSTEM OF LAW, that strives to embody an ideal of fairness for all people. That was extraordinary and still is. And of course it was not perfect by any stretch — but it was allowed to grow and be improved, forever moving “towards a more perfect union” as Abraham Lincoln so eloquently put it.
The true spirit of America.
The true spirit of America is brotherhood, sisterhood, goodness, and decency.
We have a military with a CIVILIAN commander in chief. Clearly, the Impeached President Trump is not happy about that. Trump is following another playbook. Another set of rules, NOT the US Constitution. He would love to get his hands on controlling the might of the powerful military, so he could institute what is now only rhetoric. He openly aspires to be like the despots he admires, who have such, in his mind, admirable control and power.
We are perched on the edge of a blade
We are in a Constitutional crisis, and most Americans do not understand it.
Senators had a very clear set of rules to follow in doing their jobs in becoming a tribunal and upholding the Constitution. The first of which was to swear an oath to be impartial. Meaning, listen to all evidence openly, refrain from making any judgements until after all sides have been heard and considered soberly and in the context of the Constitution and history. To be impartial judges.
They swore to do so. That was their word.
And then they broke their oath. They changed the rules.
With the exception of Mitt Romney, they chose PARTY over COUNTRY. They broke their vows to be impartial and they passed judgment in advance, without hearing a word of testimony.
They also falsely pointed fingers — another powerless move — and accused others of doing what they themselves were doing: breaking the law, calling it a sham.
Get out the whistle and call FOUL!
By holding no trial, by allowing no witnesses, by exonerating the president who was impeached with ample evidence in the House of Representatives, these elected senators absolutely broke the law.
For God’s sake, they could have pretended to follow the law. Gone through the motions. But they couldn’t even do that, because the power grab made by their party leader had corrupted them. Besides that, the Impeached President just couldn’t handle it. He told them in so many words to break the law — he promised to reward them if they would break the law — and so they did.
Years before, many of these same senators got away with violating the Constitution by changing the Judicial branch from a 9-member to an 8-member Supreme court, when they blocked the Executive branch from exercising its right and duty to appoint that 9th member. Every senator past and present should also be impeached, held accountable under the law, for that violation of the Constitution. And the Supreme Court justice appointed by Trump who had no right to appoint him as that was the right of the prior president — should be replaced.
Pete Buttigieg was the only candidate I have ever heard in my life clearly elucidate as the utmost top priority addressing these breaches of law and to address structural constitutional issues. It absolutely is the utmost top priority.
Nothing else will matter — global warming, health care, jobs or anything — if we lose our sovereignty. If we lose our right to govern ourselves. If we allow the family jewel of our Constitution to be sold off to the highest bidder.
Many cynical people believe it is too late
And that’s where cynicism right now is NOT acceptable. To be cynical is to give up our last remaining power as the people, as citizens of the United States of America.
Folks, at this rate, we could wind up a few years from now longing for Trump. Looking back on his brand of narcissism as mild and gentle.
Because cynicism is waving the white flag and surrendering the stage to some future REALLY bad guys to arise and grab the power. Someone who will make Trump look like a sublime, kind, little old lady.
To think this can’t happen here is the same folly held by the builders of the Titanic.
One body, one heart, one brain, and two hands
Folks, if we are to be a UNITED States of America again, we have got to calm down. We’ve got to recognize that the left and the right — they’re part of the same body. We have to stop allowing the right hand to want to choke the life out the left hand, and vice versa. The two hands have GOT to start working together again. For the good of the whole.
My initial knee-jerk reaction is sadness, that Pete Buttigieg has stepped out of the race. He was the one candidate who could have pulled people from the right.
However, now that I have use of my iGPS, that my emotions are a guide to telling me when I am in or out of alignment with Broader Perspective, My Soul, Source, God, Infinite Intelligence — when I feel a negative emotion, I know that it just means my eternal Inner Being who sees far beyond these moments a bright future for us all — that my Inner Being simply disagrees with that thought.
Instead, I choose to have hope. Perhaps this was a very smart and strategic move. Perhaps Buttigieg and the Dem leadership have a plan. Perhaps Pete becomes a VP running mate — to Biden or whoever is the nominee. That would be smart.
Not that a political PARTY can help us. No.
The founders clearly did not place there trust in any political party — as George Washington so clearly elucidated and I believe it is good for your soul to take 45 minutes and listen to his parting advice to us so many years ago — long before we had bureaucratic political party structures like we have now. The founders placed their trust in the same Source of our “unalienable rights to life, liberty, and happiness.” Freedom comes not from man. But from a higher source.
It Is Time for Human Good
Like George Washington, I put little weight in human political parties as a solution. What I put weight in is human goodness. Humans aligned with the Source of goodness. That’s when good happens.
It’s up to humans everywhere — not just Americans but all humans on the planet — to rise up and embrace the good. As the wonderworking 20th century veteran WWII radio operator, Saint Paisios the Athonite, it is up to us to embrace the ancient civilization-building concept of philotimo: to love honor and integrity, to choose the good thought. To believe in generosity of spirit and of abundance — there is more than enough for everyone. To appreciate diversity, all people of all stripes, colors, and creeds, unconditionally. And good government, run well, for the good of most people.
Good government is a gift and a treasure. Cynicism is NOT what George Washington called us to embrace. Nor what my dad and my uncles and scores of others who sacrificed their lives in WWII to be able to pass this treasure down to us, called us to do.
The GOP, run today by a bunch of lawbreaking thugs is gleefully selling off the family jewels to the highest bidder. That’s not the point! That’s just not right!
Honor, protect, and improve our laws and our government. But do NOT accept lawbreakers — whatever party they are in.
We don’t have the luxury of cynicism and powerlessness.
No matter what, 100 years from now, none of this will matter to us. We will almost all of us be no longer alive in these physical bodies. But we’ll be watching our sons and daughters and grandchildren, from the other side.
If cynicism and powerlessness win out this time around, I am sure we and they will have learned some things from the choices we made here, on this time, walking this earth today. And future generations will benefit eventually.
That’s what evolution is about.
To revolve is to go around in circles, cutting a groove, and getting stuck in cynicism and anger.
To evolve is to around in a circle but to move upward, into the third dimension, rising up higher, in a circle that is open and grows bigger. So that when we complete a full circle we can look back and see clearly, with 20/20 hindsight. See what happened and why it happened, and grow in understanding.
We do not need a revolution — we need evolution. Arise out of cynicism into anger. Not get stuck there but rise into frustration. Then to hope. Faith. Trust. And appreciation for all that has led to this moment: in appreciation lies our true power.