We suffer from a glut of democracy. Almost everything has been presented to “the People” as contingent, up for debate, conditional, and “the People” have made a terrible mess of things. In reality, very few people actually vote, but the ones who do guide the destiny of our nation. John Adams wrote of democracy, “It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”.
How can the heat and raw, animal emotion of the present provide us with legislation and leaders capable of preserving us as a nation into the far future? But this is the essence of democracy, and while our Founders placed safeguards that dulled and tempered the emotional tempests unleashed at the polls, they didn’t go far enough. Presidential elections, you may have noticed, inflict deep social wounds across the country, as we all divide up into armed camps and saber rattle right up to Election Day. Electoral politics has become increasingly vicious and bloodthirsty. We grow to hate those who vote for the Other Guy, who don’t support Our Guy. We plaster signs all over our yards, bumper stickers on our cars, proclaiming our support for someone who will inevitably sell out, and go out with a corrupt Bang! as his term ends.
This is all deeply unhealthy, and unsustainable. Presidential politics is killing us. Rather, give us a sovereign, appointed for life, and chosen via a method slightly less crude than direct democracy.
We look around and silently ask, “where is my sovereign?” We may not even realize we’re asking it. An American monarchy might be a beautiful thing. An end to blood feud-style Presidential politics would be even more beautiful. This nation deserves someone bred for leadership, removed from a desire for wealth, someone who has never debased himself before the public, begging for votes. It’s revolting when you think about it.
Give us a sovereign. Let us vote for our city and state leaders, our school boards, our little local elections. But give us a sovereign, appointed for life, answerable to a Congress and the courts. Appointed for life, this leader would take a long-term view of his decisions, who would look decades into the future, not a mere four years.
Our American Presidents have never took the interests of this nation seriously, despite the ridiculous campaign rhetoric. A permanent end to Presidential politics would be one of the greatest changes in our history. We’d be forever freed of the nonsense, the meaningless slogans and rallies. Take the time to imagine such a world, your view of our political system may never be the same.
