I don't mean to give the impression that I conceive of the Constitution as some perfect document. After all, it lead America to the current moment where the majority of those who actually implement policy have open contempt for many of its principles. I work to fulfill my oath because I take oaths seriously, and if I felt I couldn't cont…
I don't mean to give the impression that I conceive of the Constitution as some perfect document. After all, it lead America to the current moment where the majority of those who actually implement policy have open contempt for many of its principles. I work to fulfill my oath because I take oaths seriously, and if I felt I couldn't continue to do so in good conscience I would be honor bound to resign (honor also being indispensable to me).
I don't completely agree that the system prevents the ascension of a strongman. I posit that it prevents a certain kind of strongman from ascending, namely one with the power to unilaterally grant positive freedoms and curtail negative ones. We really only need a strongman to do the opposite (curtail positive freedoms and protect/restore negative ones). The checks and balances are biased towards constraining government action, and while the ubiquity of private-public partnerships and government cutouts cloud the issue (not to mention the complex relationship between the federal government and the federal reserve that you're all too familiar with), the bottom line is the ability to get away with all the bullshit almost always has some nexus to the government and its monopoly on force. There are a lot of things a chief executive could do within the constraints outlined by the Constitution, and I have hope that some of these things will be done. In the meantime there are things that I can do to call out the most egregious examples of contempt for the Constitution and strive for accountability in such circumstances. I also have an overall disposition that holistically healthy and fit Soldiers are most likely to uphold their oaths in spite of how challenging it can be.
I also think there is something much more to American prosperity than conquering a resource rich continent, but that's probably a topic worthy of an entire conversation itself...
I don't mean to give the impression that I conceive of the Constitution as some perfect document. After all, it lead America to the current moment where the majority of those who actually implement policy have open contempt for many of its principles. I work to fulfill my oath because I take oaths seriously, and if I felt I couldn't continue to do so in good conscience I would be honor bound to resign (honor also being indispensable to me).
I don't completely agree that the system prevents the ascension of a strongman. I posit that it prevents a certain kind of strongman from ascending, namely one with the power to unilaterally grant positive freedoms and curtail negative ones. We really only need a strongman to do the opposite (curtail positive freedoms and protect/restore negative ones). The checks and balances are biased towards constraining government action, and while the ubiquity of private-public partnerships and government cutouts cloud the issue (not to mention the complex relationship between the federal government and the federal reserve that you're all too familiar with), the bottom line is the ability to get away with all the bullshit almost always has some nexus to the government and its monopoly on force. There are a lot of things a chief executive could do within the constraints outlined by the Constitution, and I have hope that some of these things will be done. In the meantime there are things that I can do to call out the most egregious examples of contempt for the Constitution and strive for accountability in such circumstances. I also have an overall disposition that holistically healthy and fit Soldiers are most likely to uphold their oaths in spite of how challenging it can be.
I also think there is something much more to American prosperity than conquering a resource rich continent, but that's probably a topic worthy of an entire conversation itself...