(originally launched into cyberspace on 06/21/2007)Dear Subscriber,
The great American experiment, an attempt to have a system of
government whose purpose is to preserve and protect individual
liberty, ABSOLUTELY FAILED. Denying that fact at this point is just
silly. So why exactly does anyone think that trying the same thing
again would turn out better? Let's take it beyond the slim
possibility of getting Ron Paul elected President. Let's suppose we
figured out a way to resurrect Thomas Jefferson, James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton, and the rest of them, and give them control of
the government. What reason is there to think we wouldn't end up
where we are now?
Sure, it would take a while to get back to here, and you and I
probably wouldn't be around to suffer the consequences of the
SECOND failed attempt. But it would get to totalitarianism
nonetheless. Now, I've heard people say that what we have today is
NOT the fault of the Constitution, but the fault of the people who
didn't value freedom, who weren't vigilant, who fell for the tricks
of politicians, and so on. Oddly, those same people will criticize
communists who make the same argument: that the IDEA is fine, it's
just imperfect people keep botching it up. What good is an idea
that doesn't work in the real world? The Constitution DIDN'T WORK.
It didn't keep government in check; instead, it made something that
grew into the biggest tyrannical empire in the history of the world
(though not the most overtly violent... yet). That's not to say
there weren't some huge leaps in the right direction, regarding
issues concerning individual rights, limited powers of
"government," etc. But it wasn't enough, and anyone who looks at
modern America and still denies the FAILURE of the Constitution is
no better than the people who look at the Soviet Union and fail to
see the FAILURE of Communism. It took the Constitution a lot longer
to fail, because it was infinitely wiser than the short-sighted
anti-human stupidity underlying communism, but it failed
nonetheless, and for the same reason: it was based on the myth of
"authority."
Many Americans, including many of those I deeply respect, still
revere the Constitution as a near-divine entity, and consider
criticism of it to almost amount to heresy. In my own case alone, I
have seen that the First Amendment is dead; the Second Amendment is
all but dead; the Fourth Amendment is dead, buried, and eaten by
worms; the Fifth Amendment is in a coma; the Sixth Amendment has
been cremated; and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments have died,
decomposed, turned to dust, and blown away. So don't tell me the
Constitution worked. It didn't. Now why, exactly, do you think
trying the same thing again, via a Ron Paul presidency, would work
out any better in the long run (especially considering the
collectivist mindset that most Americans now have)?
Sincerely,
Larken Rose
www.larkenrose.com
