Be afraid for America. We’ve had it too good for too long, and it’s caught up with us. Besides, nothing stays the same, right? Us, things around us, even the world itself are all in flux: aging, mutating, decaying, eroding, slowing, cooling, dying.
Take atoms and molecules. They aren’t at rest. They’re in motion trying to break their bonds to escape the confines of subatomic space. Laws of physics keep them bound, creating orderliness out of chaos, but eventually these yield to the enormity of time, causing collapse into entropy and a return to chaos. Entropy is a process, an unraveling of a system.
Man-made systems are no different. Careful arrangements of papers, books comprising laws, letters, writs & documents comprising treaties and constitutions, they’re all in various states of repair and effectiveness. Ultimately they rely on the old adage what have you done for us lately? to justify their ongoing use. Question: is the outmoding of a governmental system inevitable like an atom’s entropy?
I don’t fear what will happen in billions of years; it’s the next twenty that worry me. Some claim our constitution is ancient, out of touch and unsuited to today’s problems. They want to modify it, change wordings, add new meanings, take away rights, create an entirely new system with which to govern. Problem: we evolved as a nation based on our original constitution. How can we know a new one will be better?
Unlike atoms, human behavior is not uniform. It gives rise to differing ideas, some better, some worse. To measure the superiority of one over another, one must study the societal happiness generated by each relative to the whole. How many of the people thrive with meaningful fulfillment in their lives, compared with other types of governances?
There are indicators for societal health, but quantifying them can lead to differing conclusions. Still, seen objectively from a macro perspective a government’s longevity, GDP, population, advancements in science, mortality rates of very young & old, national benevolence in emergencies, crime/incarceration rates and percent living in poverty all suggest America has been one of the best for more than 100yrs. This is a fact, whether you agree with this criteria and overall assessment or not.
Think of America as a molecule susceptible to entropy. Tampering with intrinsic parts could trigger the process, make it lose its unique character and exceptionalism. Some expect this is a sociological inevitability: democracies are doomed before they begin. But what if it’s the dumb idea of an ignorant few who insist on seeing the world on a utopian pallette or as an oligarchic New World Order? Most know the first is not possible, the second to be avoided at all costs. Can we allow ideological tinkerings, motivations or expectations to justify such risks?
America was fashioned from strong work ethics, Judeo-Christian values, respect for law and order and rugged individualism. These were the elements of our making, bound together by constitutionalism, republicanism and free market capitalism. Those who encourage needfulness, reward indolence, think government has every answer, disrespect police, would rescind constitutional rights or sit idly by as we’re beguiled away from our proven model toward possible indenture, uncertainty, even chaos, are not just foolish, they are dangerous ideologues.
We can improve our model but must never allow it to entropy, naturally or otherwise. The elements of our existence, the building blocks of our success, are irreplaceable. Diminish them in any way and just like Humpty -Dumpty, they may never come together again. Let’s rely on things that work, not fairy tales. America’s Dream is a reality. Keep it that way!
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I’m Al Shane
2270 N. Euclid Ave
Upland, Ca 91784
(909) 593-7431
al@bmgmtassoc.com
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