As a nation, a distinct republic, the United States of America is relatively young. When we are taught its history in the republic’s public schools, we are left with the impression of a natural, inexorable march from “Discovery” in 1492 to “Freedom” in the 1770s. The glowing, pulsing arrow directing this march, we are told, was “Democracy”, codified in our federal constitution and born as a plump and smiling child to be nurtured by the Bill of Rights, the perfect mechanism of checks and balances, separation of church and state, and so forth. That child, however, was still-born, brain-dead, since its parents were all wealthy, white, rich, and male. The money behind the rebellion and the early years of the republic knew this. They also knew that freedom from the tyranny of monarchy — both present and future — required that the unwashed masses get and stay on board. They were in many ways, however, more terrified of the tyranny of the masses than they were of a tyrannical monarchy.[full essay]
So The Child named “Democracy” was hooked up to a life-support system of myth and rhetoric, costumed, animated, and displayed whenever the masses got too organized and uppity. The hardest tasks the wealthy have faced are those of timing and script writing. For 230 years, you have to admit, they’ve done a pretty good job. The republic is still here, still serving wealth well. The question is whether they will decide to pull the plug on the kid. That decision will be the result of two critical calculations: (1) “is the republic secure enough in our hands?” and (2) “if not, do we still need the republic?”
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