"Government requires make-believe. Make believe that the king is divine, make believe that he can do no wrong or make believe that the voice of the people is the voice of God. Make believe that the people have a voice or make believe that the representatives of the people are the people. Make believe that governors are the servants of the people. Make believe that all men are created equal or make believe that they are not."
– Edmund S. Morgan (1916-2013)
What if the government's true goal is to perpetuate its own power? What if the real levers of governmental power are pulled by agents and diplomats and by bureaucrats and central bankers behind the scenes? What if they stay in power no matter who is elected president or which political party controls either house of Congress?
What if the frequent public displays of adversity between Republicans and Democrats are just a facade? What if both major political parties agree on the fundamental issues of our day?
What if the leadership of both political parties believes that our rights are not natural to our humanity but instead are gifts from the government? What if those leaders believe the government that gives gifts to the people can take those gifts away?
What if the leadership of both parties gives only lip service to Thomas Jefferson's assertions in the Declaration of Independence that all persons "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" and that when the government assaults our natural rights, we can "alter or abolish" it?
What if the last four presidents – two from each political party – have used high-tech drones to kill innocent people in foreign lands with which America was not at war and claimed that they did so legally, relying not on a declaration of war from Congress but on erroneous and secret arguments that claim American presidents can kill with impunity?
What if the Constitution requires a congressional declaration of war or due process whenever the government wants anyone's life, liberty or property, whether convenient or not, and whether the person is American or not? What if due process means a fair jury trial, not a secretly ordered killing?
What if most members of Congress from both political parties believe in perpetual war and perpetual debt?
What if the political class uses war to enrich its benefactors? What if the government has been paying for war by increasing its debt?
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