The truly disturbing aspect of this column is that it appears, not in some obscure vanity journal of the progressive left, but in the flagship media organ of American Liberal Socialism. What we see as “bone-headed” appears to be a position widely held among those on the left. They really believe that jettisoning the rule of law will usher in a new age of efficient and enlightened governance.
That pesky constitution is so dusty and slow. What’s really needed is an expedited ticket to downtown Utopia. Professor Seidman cynically uses the Orwellian language of opposites to simply dismiss the U.S. Constitution:
“...before abandoning our heritage of self-government, we ought to try extricating ourselves from constitutional bondage so that we can give real freedom a chance.”
To Seidman, “We the People...” is a utopian fantasy. He urges us to abandon the checks and balances of limited government in favor of his cultish central planning by unknown elites like himself. As insane as this sounds, it must be taken very seriously. The totalitarian statists are on the march. Law is inconvenient for them. Its subversion and circumvention in pursuit of progressive ideals is ALWAYS okay; always in process:
Debauch the currency.
Foment class struggle.
Erode individual sovereignty.
Attack private property.
Promote radical, Jacobin-style egalitarianism.
Disarm the common people.
Encourage dependency on the state.
Balkanize the electorate along racial, ethnic, religious lines.
Destroy the rule of law.
Control the media, public opinion, and access to information.
Dumb down public education.
Manipulate the economy.
Assault traditional institutions: Religion, military service, marriage and family.
This op-ed is a harbinger, a clarion of the left’s true intention. Believe them in their own words. If they can get away with it...they will make a run to scrap the Constitution.
I agree with you, Charles. This is exactly what they want to do, and Obama's re-election has emboldened them into open admission of their grand plan. That this column was published in the New York Times and not some commie blog like Mother Jones is what is extraordinarily dangerous, since the Times (Slimes) like to style itself as the mainstream of liberal thought and a National opinion shaper. This is the first shot in trying to turn public opinion against the Constitution and to begin paving the way for its destruction.