The experiment has failed

When historians look back on August 1, 2011 I am almost certain that they will conclude that that was the day the American Republic finally and irrevocably ended. Just as the Western Roman Empire limped along for a few decades after Honorius did nothing to stop the Goths from sacking the city of Rome, we probably will have to endure a vicious period of decline, contraction, and massive harm to the population. While some historians called it the most orderly and peaceful sack in history, the trend was clear, the imperial government was impotent and incapable of protecting the public despite incredible tax burdens and expenditure on the military. Obviously predicting the future is a dangerous game, but it is possible to speculate on possible future scenarios based on recent decisions. In Corruption and the Decline of Rome Ramsey MacMullen traced the decay of public spirit and privatization of public power into the hands of magnates and military leaders which he contended drove the loss of security in the empire and eventual collapse due to barbarian invasion. This is the closest historical parallel to what has happened to the United States that I have been able to find. The civic order in our country has been demolished for the private gain of very few. Public morality has been reduced to a complete atomization of society in which popularly elected leaders sell out the commonwealth for campaign contributions and maybe a cushy private job after being tossed out for their treachery.

A routine and until now completely procedural vote to raise the nation's credit limit was hijacked by a faction that is completely willing to see the nation collapse despite a major component of that faction having a major stake in the financial stability of the nation. Strange isn't it? This situation seems so surreal, not only did the ruling faction capitulate completely in this crazy game, but simultaneously bought into and sold out reality. Empirical facts said that our economy is depressed in whole by lack of demand due to many factors above my pay grade to really understand or comment on, the proven remedy is to structurally address the lack of demand and incredible financial stratification of our society through government intervention, but our well-educated president has chosen to believe a fantasy explanation or simply doesn't care. Government spending to generate demand as a last resort has always pulled us out of recession before, and cutting back during recovery always leads to stalling. I suspect it is the latter in the president's thinking, through the same empirical process that has seen him capitulate and surrender to the opposition in every case. An opposition so bent and determined to see him, and by extension the country, "fail" that they have openly expressed this fact on numerous occasions.

At some point, and many commenters on say, Salon.com have reached that point long ago, those of us who were so excited to vote for Barack Obama have to make a decision on whether he really is this bad at politics or really believes in the completely bankrupt and self-serving ideology of the republican party. I knew something was up from the moment he gave his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention when he couldn't bring himself to spell out how the crisis in America was caused in its entireity by conscious conservative policies and the bubble mindset of speculative, shameless greeed. This tendency only accelerated from that point, the desire to be polite and conciliatory to the enemies of the American Dream. What happened? Was this simply the greatest bait and switch operation in the republic's history? Did this man who's entire life story had been the opposite of his predecessor somewhere along the line internalize the same selfish philosophy?

After the huge electoral landslide in 2008 the press was flooded with stories about the death of conservatism and the republican party. Maybe feeling sorry for the loser and underdog can account for a tiny bit of the conciliatory mood in the Democratic party in the first days, but every setback of what real liberals wanted chipped away at any plausible explanation. It wasn't just pie in the sky wishing, all guys like me wanted was a return to the days when the US didn't unilaterally invade countries for no cause, didn't torture or shred the constitution at any opportunity, didn't cut taxes in wartime, didn't privatize and deregulate the public sector or wage war on collective bargaining. At the very least we thought Barack Obama and historic Democratic majorities in Congress could fix some of the grosser iniquities in America, like hedge fund loopholes, oil subsidies or the incredible inefficiency and downright cruelty in health insurance. No, no, and no. It was being told to shut up for the "good of the country" while they snatched defeat from nearly inevitable victory.

A republic is only possible when the public is engaged and recognizes the stake it has. When power has been so stripped from the sovereignty and accrued in private hands they way it has now, popular government becomes a farce. When the loyal opposition becomes so shamelessly evil and bent on destroying society to undermine its clueless opponents, responsibility goes out the window. Even if somehow the US could be saved, what would be left after this civil war is over? There is a good reason for maintaining a public policy of not negotiating with terrorists.

I am still in the middle of what I am sure will be a volume of required reading for future historians looking at how the US went from the most powerful country on Earth to basket case in a generation; Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi. He swears a lot and has the gumption to call dispicable banksters for what they are and even makes pop culture metaphors in analyzing the hollowing out of our society, but puts his finger on the vast and interconnected network of mafia-like grifters who cracked open the American economy and ran off with the loot. Anyway, Ben Franklin's warning about having a republic, if you can keep it, is more applicable than ever.