Would the Founding Fathers Recognize Modern America?
Jul 8, 2018 08:18:29 #
“Would the Founding Fathers Recognize Modern America?”
“Would the Founding Fathers Recognize Modern America?”
by Bill Bonner
"The metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly is one of the most remarkable things in nature. The animal apparently digests itself, using enzymes triggered by hormones. Then, from the pupa, a whole new animal develops – one with wings. Time and growth produce changes in institutions, too. Sometimes, they merely get bigger and older. Sometimes, they go through a metamorphosis and change into something very different.
We recently moved back to France for the summer. We lived here for nearly 20 years… and still have a house in the country, to which we retire every summer. Here, we find our old friends and acquaintances… our old clothes and shoes… our tools and workshop… our tractor… and our favorite office. And what a pleasure… there, on the table next to the bed, was a copy of Michel De Jaeghere’s great book, "Les Derniers Jours: La Fin de l’Empire Romain d’Occident" ("The Last Days: The End of the Roman Empire in the West"). We picked it up and found where we left off a year ago… page 321.
Roman Example: Many of the founders of the American Republic were readers and scholars. “I can’t live without books,” said Jefferson. He, Monroe, Madison, Adams, and others were much more aware of Roman history than our leaders today. Most had studied Latin and/or Greek. They had read Plutarch, Seneca, Sallust, Suetonius, and Cicero. Much was known about the Roman era… and much was discussed. People believed they could learn from it and do better.
In the same year that the Declaration of Independence was adopted, Edward Gibbon published the first volume of his masterpiece, "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." The Founding Fathers were well aware of the t***sition – natural, and perhaps inevitable – from republic to empire. They had studied it in the Roman example. They had seen how it drew power into a few hands… and corrupted them.
They tried to prevent it from happening in the New World, putting in place limits… circuit breakers… and checks and balances… to keep the government from becoming too big, too ambitious, or too powerful. Even then, they were doubtful that it would stick. “We give you a republic…” Franklin wrote to posterity, “if you can keep it.” America did keep it… for nearly 100 years. Maybe a few more. Then, the metamorphosis occurred. And, like Rome, it was not very pretty.
Metamorphic Change: When a man has a wife, he has a more or less agreeable situation, depending on the circumstances. But if he has two wives, he doesn’t simply have twice as much wife. Or twice as much marriage. Or twice as much satisfaction. Or twice as much misery, such as the case may be. It is something altogether different. Likewise, going to a small airport is very different from going to a large one. And a small, modest country has little in common with a big, aggressive, worldwide empire.
The point we have been making in our Diary is that time and scale have changed the nature, not just the age and the size, of the United States of America. It has become something the Founding Fathers had tried to avoid… and almost certainly wouldn’t like.
It was a metamorphic change, not just more of the same thing. But unlike Jesus, who turned water into wine… or nature, which turns an ugly caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly… the change from modest republic to aggressive empire was not necessarily for the better.
The Constitution was twisted into a new shape; like when an alcoholic chaperones a school party after he has had a few drinks, the kids can get away with anything.
The Bill of Rights, too, was run through the wringer. Citizens still have the right to life, liberty, and property – but only to the extent that the feds allow. They can keep their firearms, for example, but under the Obama Doctrine, the feds can label them terrorists… and k**l American citizens.
They still have the right to express themselves under the protection of the First Amendment, unless their opinions are considered “h**e speech,” or the feds – or their agents at Facebook and Google – just don’t like what they say.
Your property is still safe, too; but under the doctrine of civil forfeiture, the police can take your money, your cars, and your house… with no due process of law.
Thus, were Americans mugged, mangled, and manacled. And then, the feds hit them in the face with a shovel. Beginning in 2008, they distributed nearly $4 trillion to America’s wealthy stock- and bond-owners. Trillions more were taken from savers (most of us) by reducing interest rates… and given to big borrowers (corporations, Wall Street, and the feds themselves).
Is it any wonder that ordinary Americans are feeling a little testy? Almost everything seems to be subject to the law of declining marginal utility. Power is no exception. And like desserts, wives, and shots of whiskey, it doesn’t take too long before the returns to additional power diminish so much that they are no longer positive. They fall below the zero line. There, another drink is not merely useless, it could be fatal… and more power turns you into a Hell-bound bully.
Evolution of Power: That is the insight we’ve struggled to bring to light. As America evolved into an aging empire, it left behind it the laws, rules, customs, and instincts of its youth, much like Rome did after the death of Crassus in 53 BC.
The U.S. empire is now more than 100 years old. It began in the late 1890s, with the annexation of the Philippines. (Some people put the start date much earlier… when the North brought the South into imperial submission.)
Empires are very different from republics. They are no longer by, for, and of the people. They’re too big… too complex… with too many fingers in too many pies for the people or their elected representatives to keep up with. So power migrates to the center. There, where the CIA, NSA, Pentagon, NIH, FBI, IRS, and dozens of other agencies… along with the corporate headquarters of hundreds of big industries… and thousands of pressure groups, lobbyists, factotums, hacks, think tanks, NGOs, powerful families, and apparatchiks reside, is where the real power flows.
There, too, in Rome as in Washington, the power congeals. De Jaeghere… along with hundreds of other historians, ancient and modern… brings the process to light. After reading them, reading the news today is almost like watching an old movie. We’ve seen it before, but we may still laugh… or shed a tear.”
- https://www.theburningplatform.com/
“Would the Founding Fathers Recognize Modern America?”
by Bill Bonner
"The metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly is one of the most remarkable things in nature. The animal apparently digests itself, using enzymes triggered by hormones. Then, from the pupa, a whole new animal develops – one with wings. Time and growth produce changes in institutions, too. Sometimes, they merely get bigger and older. Sometimes, they go through a metamorphosis and change into something very different.
We recently moved back to France for the summer. We lived here for nearly 20 years… and still have a house in the country, to which we retire every summer. Here, we find our old friends and acquaintances… our old clothes and shoes… our tools and workshop… our tractor… and our favorite office. And what a pleasure… there, on the table next to the bed, was a copy of Michel De Jaeghere’s great book, "Les Derniers Jours: La Fin de l’Empire Romain d’Occident" ("The Last Days: The End of the Roman Empire in the West"). We picked it up and found where we left off a year ago… page 321.
Roman Example: Many of the founders of the American Republic were readers and scholars. “I can’t live without books,” said Jefferson. He, Monroe, Madison, Adams, and others were much more aware of Roman history than our leaders today. Most had studied Latin and/or Greek. They had read Plutarch, Seneca, Sallust, Suetonius, and Cicero. Much was known about the Roman era… and much was discussed. People believed they could learn from it and do better.
In the same year that the Declaration of Independence was adopted, Edward Gibbon published the first volume of his masterpiece, "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." The Founding Fathers were well aware of the t***sition – natural, and perhaps inevitable – from republic to empire. They had studied it in the Roman example. They had seen how it drew power into a few hands… and corrupted them.
They tried to prevent it from happening in the New World, putting in place limits… circuit breakers… and checks and balances… to keep the government from becoming too big, too ambitious, or too powerful. Even then, they were doubtful that it would stick. “We give you a republic…” Franklin wrote to posterity, “if you can keep it.” America did keep it… for nearly 100 years. Maybe a few more. Then, the metamorphosis occurred. And, like Rome, it was not very pretty.
Metamorphic Change: When a man has a wife, he has a more or less agreeable situation, depending on the circumstances. But if he has two wives, he doesn’t simply have twice as much wife. Or twice as much marriage. Or twice as much satisfaction. Or twice as much misery, such as the case may be. It is something altogether different. Likewise, going to a small airport is very different from going to a large one. And a small, modest country has little in common with a big, aggressive, worldwide empire.
The point we have been making in our Diary is that time and scale have changed the nature, not just the age and the size, of the United States of America. It has become something the Founding Fathers had tried to avoid… and almost certainly wouldn’t like.
It was a metamorphic change, not just more of the same thing. But unlike Jesus, who turned water into wine… or nature, which turns an ugly caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly… the change from modest republic to aggressive empire was not necessarily for the better.
The Constitution was twisted into a new shape; like when an alcoholic chaperones a school party after he has had a few drinks, the kids can get away with anything.
The Bill of Rights, too, was run through the wringer. Citizens still have the right to life, liberty, and property – but only to the extent that the feds allow. They can keep their firearms, for example, but under the Obama Doctrine, the feds can label them terrorists… and k**l American citizens.
They still have the right to express themselves under the protection of the First Amendment, unless their opinions are considered “h**e speech,” or the feds – or their agents at Facebook and Google – just don’t like what they say.
Your property is still safe, too; but under the doctrine of civil forfeiture, the police can take your money, your cars, and your house… with no due process of law.
Thus, were Americans mugged, mangled, and manacled. And then, the feds hit them in the face with a shovel. Beginning in 2008, they distributed nearly $4 trillion to America’s wealthy stock- and bond-owners. Trillions more were taken from savers (most of us) by reducing interest rates… and given to big borrowers (corporations, Wall Street, and the feds themselves).
Is it any wonder that ordinary Americans are feeling a little testy? Almost everything seems to be subject to the law of declining marginal utility. Power is no exception. And like desserts, wives, and shots of whiskey, it doesn’t take too long before the returns to additional power diminish so much that they are no longer positive. They fall below the zero line. There, another drink is not merely useless, it could be fatal… and more power turns you into a Hell-bound bully.
Evolution of Power: That is the insight we’ve struggled to bring to light. As America evolved into an aging empire, it left behind it the laws, rules, customs, and instincts of its youth, much like Rome did after the death of Crassus in 53 BC.
The U.S. empire is now more than 100 years old. It began in the late 1890s, with the annexation of the Philippines. (Some people put the start date much earlier… when the North brought the South into imperial submission.)
Empires are very different from republics. They are no longer by, for, and of the people. They’re too big… too complex… with too many fingers in too many pies for the people or their elected representatives to keep up with. So power migrates to the center. There, where the CIA, NSA, Pentagon, NIH, FBI, IRS, and dozens of other agencies… along with the corporate headquarters of hundreds of big industries… and thousands of pressure groups, lobbyists, factotums, hacks, think tanks, NGOs, powerful families, and apparatchiks reside, is where the real power flows.
There, too, in Rome as in Washington, the power congeals. De Jaeghere… along with hundreds of other historians, ancient and modern… brings the process to light. After reading them, reading the news today is almost like watching an old movie. We’ve seen it before, but we may still laugh… or shed a tear.”
- https://www.theburningplatform.com/
Jul 8, 2018 08:28:39 #
slatten49
Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas
I always enjoy your postings, Pafret. 
But, no, it's not likely our Founding Fathers would recognize the country that exists today. How could they, as it is part of a totally different world than they knew, and one which they would have (initially at least) difficulty fathoming.
But, no, it's not likely our Founding Fathers would recognize the country that exists today. How could they, as it is part of a totally different world than they knew, and one which they would have (initially at least) difficulty fathoming.
Jul 8, 2018 08:40:47 #
pafret wrote:
“Would the Founding Fathers Recognize Modern Ameri... (show quote)
Excellent article pafret, a lot of t***h in observation ...
My father used to say “ I don’t even recognise this country anymore..” when speaking to friends... I didn’t understand him then and wish I didn’t now either, but alas the issues of our country, our role, our impact is something that moves forward in spite of us...
Progress is not always good but its going forward anyway... Adapt or be left out..Is it all about power and control??? It sure seems it.. Not all bad I just wish we would retain those character qualities that made us better as people than what we are becoming now in some ways...
Jul 8, 2018 09:12:06 #
lindajoy wrote:
Excellent article pafret, a lot of t***h in observ... (show quote)
I attained my majority in the fifties. The rapidity of the decline has been astounding. We had pockets of racial and ethnic bigotry all over the country and these were addressed as a result of the sixties sit-ins and Civil Disobedience which resulted in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Since that time, when we were all Americans, we have embraced m**************m which is a direct refutation of the values, which built this nation and provided us with our Republican form of government.
Ethnic, religious and cultural bigotry, instead of being compartmentalized in small regions has become endemic throughout the nation. We have lost the sense of all being American and the government has not been loath to step into the leader role and define our lives. Each new rule and regulation diminishes our freedoms and our populace has not awakened to the dangers of allowing such control. It is doubtful they ever will; the schools seem to be determined to turn out utterly dependent stooges, fit for nothing other than to protest for more "free stuff".
Jul 8, 2018 10:48:53 #
pafret wrote:
I attained my majority in the fifties. The rapidi... (show quote)
So desperately wish I could find disagreement in what you say but to the contrary it is exactly on point..
When did you see or feel the mass change in our populace and aliens rising to the point of it is an expectation not priveldge to be allowed to become a citizen ??
The civil rights movement was a glorious change for our country?? I wasn’t born yet so anything I know of it I read or my Dad spoke of saying it was a pivetal time of err and rather than like a new born that learns as it grows this movement demanded change when really many were not a part of that change and didn't want to be.. He told me Johnson was the very worst and he didn’t lead the civil rights movement for e******y but rather to make them s***es all over again, only needing their v**es which he also detested....
Ethnicity was a time of diversity where people coming in truly wanted to be “citizens, wanted the American Dream and did everything required to eventually attain it.. ...Now, it truly is an “you Americans owe me” and they do not come to assimilate, to better our country but to rob it blind of its freedom and everything else they can use against us...
I relate to this in your post very well~
Each new rule and regulation diminishes our freedoms ... If you look at my salutations you will see: as government expands, freedom contracts...
Personally pafret I am of the opinion we need to halt all i******s sending them right back to their home before ever stepping foot on our soil.. Close all borders for a good 5 years so we may get our country back in order and those i******s here out!! They can be welcomed in when they have done it by the laws we have in place.. We don’t need new laws we just need to enforce what is here..
We have taken in more i******s than any other country and its time they anty up and take more.... We simply can not afford anymore!’
Need evidence??? Just look at our country.....
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