The Myth Of Continuity

There’s a myth that the United States of America began with the
Revolution in 1776 and continues today. I say it’s a myth, because the
name is the same, but the contents have changed.

In 1776 to 1787, we fought a war and then attempted to form a nation
under the Articles of Confederation. Not the same form of government we
have now.

 From 1787 until 1861, we had a free association of independent units
under one Constitution collectively called “the United States” but that
union perished when the southern states attempted to leave and the
northern states invaded and conquered them.

 From 1865 until about 1935, we had a weak central government to handle
constitutional responsibilities with foreign nations and a collection of
state governments to handle local affairs. That nearly died with the
Great Depression and FDR’s gigantic increase in the size, scope and
domestic power of federal government. It was finished off by 1975, with
LBJ Great Society, immigration reform, anti-war protest, affirmative
action, feminism. We are living in the ruins with transgender rights,
systemic white privilege, antifa, and ever-smaller warring factions. The
nation is disintegrating; we simply haven’t started the shooting in earnest.

The final proof is that every Governor can invoke emergency powers to
suspend the Constitution and no one blinks an eye. Walz banned religion.
He banned the right to make a living, except for favored contributors. 
He issued a state-wide house arrest restricting travel. These acts would
have been unthinkable under previous versions of the United States but
today they are not only accepted, they are vigorously defended by half
the population.

I don’t know what the next country will be like. It will not be a
collection of independent, proud, pioneers pulling themselves up by
their bootstraps. That country is long dead. When enough people get sick
of the uncertainty and violence, I fear they will turn to a strong man,
a dictator, to impose order by ridding the country of independent,
proud, people who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. Small
business men. Entrepreneurs. Independent thinkers. Me.

Not looking forward to it.

Joe Doakes

Nope.

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