Tyranny At Home
By Fred Reed
“The consolidation of the states into one
vast empire, sure to be aggressive abroad
and despotic at home, will be the certain
precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all
that preceded it.” Robert
E. Lee
June
08, 2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- The man was perceptive. Amalgamation of the
states under a central government has led
to exactly the effects foreseen by General Lee.
In, say,
1950, to an appreciable though imperfect extent
America resembled a confederacy. Different
regions of the America had little contact with
each other, and almost no influence over one
another. The federal government was small and
remote. Interstates did not exist, nor of course
the internet, nor even direct long-distance
telephone dialing. West Virginia, Alabama,
Massachusetts, New York City, Texas, and
California had little in common, but little
conflict arose since for practical purposes they
were almost different countries. They chiefly
governed themselves. The proportion of federal
to state law was small.
It is
important to note that regional differences were
great. In 1964 in rural Virginia, the boys
brought shotguns to school during deer season.
Nobody shot anybody because it wasn’t in the
culture. The culture was uniform, so no one was
upset. It is when cultures are mixed, or one
rules another, that antagonism comes. Such
shotgun freedom would not have worked in New
York City with its variegated and often mutually
hostile ethnicities.
Regions
differed importantly in degree of freedom, not
just in the freedom of local populations to
govern themselves but also in individual
freedom. It made a large difference in the tenor
of life. If in Texas, rural Virginia, or West
Virginia you wanted to build an addition to your
house, you did. You didn’t need licenses,
permits, inspections, union-certified
electricians. Speed limits? Largely ignored.
Federal requirements for Coast Guard approved
flotation devices on your canoe? What the hell
kind of crazy idea was that?
Democracy
works better the smaller the group practicing
it. In a town, people can actually understand
the questions of the day. They know what matters
to them. Do we build a new school, or expand the
existing one? Do we want our children to recite
the pledge of allegiance, or don’t we? Reenact
the Battle of Antietam? Sing Christmas carols in
the town square? We can decide these things.
Leave us alone.
States
similarly knew what their people wanted and,
within the limits of human frailty, governed
accordingly.
Then came
the vast empire, the phenomenal increase in the
power and reach of the federal government, which
really means the Northeast Corridor. The Supreme
Court expanded and expanded and expanded the
authority of Washington, New York’s store-front
operation. The federals now decided what could
be taught in the schools, what religious
practices could be permitted, what standards
employers could use in hiring, who they had to
hire. The media coalesced into a small number of
corporations, controlled from New York but with
national reach. More recently we have added
surveillance of everything by Washington’s
intelligence agencies.
Tyranny at
home, said General Lee . Just so. This could
happen only with the consolidation of the
states into one vast empire.
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Tyranny
comes easily when those seeking it need only
corrupt a single Congress, appoint a single
Supreme Court, or control the departments of one
executive branch. In a confederation of largely
self-governing states, those hungry to domineer
would have to suborn fifty congresses. It could
not be done. State governments are accessible to
the governed. They can be ejected. They are much
more likely to be sympathetic to the desires of
their constituents since they are of the same
culture.
Aggressive
abroad, said General Lee. Is this not exactly
what we see? At this moment Washington has the
better part of a thousand military bases around
the world, unnecessary except for the
maintenance of empire. America exists in a state
of constant war, bombing Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Syria, Somalia, recently having destroyed Iraq
and Libya. Washington threatens Iran, North
Korea, Russia, and China. Its military moves
deeper into Africa. Washington sanctions Cuba,
Russia, North Korea, and Iran, to no effect. It
constantly tries to dominate other nations, for
example adding to NATO.
None of
these wars and little if any of the imperial
aggression interests more than a tiny fraction
of the country’s people. To whom can the war
against Afghanistan matter? Libya? Few people
have heard of Montenegro. Does its membership in
NATO or lack of it affect Idaho?
In a
confederacy, states would have to approve a war.
Few would unless the United States itself were
threatened. They might well refuse to pay for
wars not in their benefit, or to allow their
sons, daughters, and transgenders to be
conscripted.
But with a
central government, those benefiting from war
can concentrate money and influence only on that
government. For example, military industry,
Israel, big oil, Wall Street. Wars might carry
the votes of states with arms factories. Other
states would decline.
In
principle, the Constitution should have
prevented the hijacking of the military that we
now suffer. As we all should know, and some do,
America cannot under the Constitution go to war
without a declaration by Congress, the last one
of which occurred in 1941. But a single central
government can be corrupted more easily than
fifty state governments. A few billionaires,
well-funded lobbies, and the remoteness of
Washington from the common consciousness make
controlling the legislature as easy as buying a
pair of shoes.
And thus,
just as Marse Bob expected, the federals are out
of control and make war without the least
reference to the nation. If America attacks
North Korea, or Russia, or China, we will read
of it the day after. The central government, and
only the central government, decides. A few days
ago I read that the Pentagon contemplates
sending thousands of additional troops to
Afghanistan. This combines tyranny at home and
aggression abroad. Who wants to send them? A
few neocons in New York, the arms industry, a
few generals, and several senators. It could not
happen in a confederacy.
Will this, as General Lee predicted, prove “the
certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed
all that preceded it.”? Wait.
Fred’s Biography, As He Tells It: - Fred, a
keyboard mercenary with a disorganized past, has
worked on staff for Army Times, The
Washingtonian, Soldier of Fortune, Federal
Computer Week, and The Washington Times.
https://fredoneverything.org
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The
views expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of Information Clearing House.