Posted on 03/07/2010 9:27:29 AM PST by DogByte6RER
Glenn Harlan Reynolds: Consent of the governed - and the lack thereof
By: Glenn Harlan Reynolds
Sunday Reflections Contributor
March 7, 2010
Our Declaration of Independence observes:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
"Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." This is boilerplate American history, and something that Americans -- and, in particular, America's political class -- have long taken for granted.
But now things are looking a bit dicey. According to a recent Rasmussen Poll, only 21 percent of American voters believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed. On the other hand, Rasmussen notes, a full 63 percent of the "political class" believe that the government enjoys the consent of the governed.
It's tempting to stress the disconnect here, and that disconnect is certainly huge. Unsurprisingly, the political class -- which talks mostly to itself -- thinks that it is far more popular, and legitimate, in the eyes of the country than is in fact the case. In this, as in so many things, America's political class is out of touch with reality.
But forget the views of America -- where, it seems likely, more people believe in alien abductions than in the legitimacy of our rulers -- and look just at the more cheerful view of the political class.
Even among the rulers, only 63 percent -- triple the fraction of the general populace but still less than two-thirds of the political class -- regard the federal government as legitimate by the standards of America's founding document. The remainder, presumably, are comfortable being tyrants.
These numbers should raise deep worries about the future of our republic. A nation whose government does not rest on the consent of the governed is a nation whose government holds sway only by inertia, or by force.
It is a nation vulnerable to political shocks, usurpation, or perhaps even political collapse or civil war. It is a body politic suffering from a serious illness. Those who care about America should be very worried.
But we've had enough political drama in recent years, so I'll go for a more prosaic comparison: The once-heady brew of American freedom has become watery and unsatisfying.
In fact, when I think of the federal government's brand now, I think of Schlitz beer. Schlitz was once a top national brew. But, in search of short-term gains, it began gradually reducing its quality in tiny increments to save money, substituting cheaper malt, fewer hops and "accelerated" brewing for its traditional approach.
Each incremental decline was imperceptible to consumers, but after a few years, people suddenly noticed that the beer was no good anymore. Sales collapsed, and a "Taste My Schlitz" campaign designed to lure beer drinkers back failed when the "improved" brew turned out not to be any better. A brand image that had been accumulated over decades was lost in a few years, and it has never recovered.
The federal government, alas, finds itself in much the same position. The political class sold its legitimacy off in drips and drabs. As "smart politics" has come over the past decades to mean not persuasion but the practice of legerdemain, the use of political deals, cover from a friendly press apparat and taking advantage of voters' rational ignorance, the governing classes have managed to achieve things that would surely have failed had the people known what was going on.
But though each little trick may have slipped by the voters, the voters have nonetheless noticed that the ultimate product isn't what it used to be. The end result, as with Schlitz, is a tarnished brand. And rescuing tarnished brands is hard.
It gets worse. Not long ago, the federal government enjoyed a stellar reputation for honesty and competence. Now, according to a recent CNN poll, three-quarters of Americans think federal officials aren't honest . (There's no separate survey here on what the "political class" thinks, but I suspect that its numbers would be sunnier, but still appalling, as above). So what do we do with a federal government that many voters think is illegitimate and dishonest?
Well, the Declaration of Independence allows for the prospect of altering or abolishing the government we have in order to get a government that's closer to what we want. That needn't involve anything as violent as the American Revolution or the Civil War, but the need for change -- real, structural change as opposed to campaign-slogan "change" -- is becoming more obvious.
In the past, America has managed to reinvent itself without transformations as wrenching as the Civil War or the Revolution. As the legitimacy of our current arrangements becomes increasingly threadbare, it is perhaps worth thinking about how this might be accomplished again. Because when a great beer dies, it's sad. But when a great nation dies, it's tragic.
Examiner contributor Glenn Harlan Reynolds is a law professor at the University of Tennessee. He hosts "Instavision" at PJTV.com, and blogs at Instapundit.com.
Sure it has, ever more leftward and with the resulting loss of freedom.
Things this messed up don't get solved at the ballot box.
And the first step on the path to resolution is realizing that a good 50% of the population and whole geographic areas of the nation are the enemy within that must be neutralized or effectively incapacitated.
Yes, good article. Thanks for posting.
There has never been greater disconnect between the entire political class and we the people in our nation’s history.
Sweep ALL of them out or let them ALL resign and go back to their families. They only understand power. It’s time to flex OUR muscle. The soap box doesn’t work. They control all of the amplification devices. It’s time for the ballot box. It’s peaceful. It’s powerful.
Bttt
A man who knows his government and his beer! A national treasure.
The Constitution of the United States of America provides its own formula for change in Article V. The task of the American citizenry is to rediscover the ideas underlying their Declaration of Independence and the structuring of government provided by that Constitution and to demand of their elected representatives adherence to that Constitution's limitations on their power. The "change" provided for in the Constitution requires the participation of the Constitution's "only Keepers," (See Justice Story's Commentaries) in any valid changes to its provisions and protections of "We, the People."
But those poor puppies! < /inside_joke>
We will see about that in a few months. We will know for certain long before November 2012 whether or not the third box needs to be opened.
The Instapundit Professor and husband of Dr. Helen.
This guy ROCKS!
bttt
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