PrintJuly 22, 2010
Character and the American Ruling Class
Angelo Codevilla, in a seminal article entitled "America's Ruling Class" published in the American Spectator, goes into great and accurate detail about the evolution of the current ruling class in the United States and its devastating impact on the country.
A ruling class has been and will always be a part of any society due to the fundamental nature of the human race. The most dominant trait mankind has, as do all living creatures, is an innate desire to survive and prosper. While some may willingly choose to pursue subsistence on their own terms, for the vast majority, the path of least resistance is preferred, thus people are very open to the concept of a central authority providing them with the means of livelihood.
A secondary characteristic of the human race, again shared by other species, is the need by some within the group to conquer or maintain control over their fellow man. Thus, a ruling class is born. However, down through the centuries, this trait has been taken to extremes in great nations, and their ruling classes ending up on the ash heaps of history due to individual and collective avarice and lust for power.
The antidote for this failing in mankind is a set of morals and ethical rules, originally espoused thousands of years ago within a religious context, but meant to offer a guideline in the dealings of not only the ruling class with those that are ruled, but within the class itself.
The framers of the Constitution of the United States understood the basic nature of human beings. They accordingly set forth a form of government and a written Constitution to greatly limit those who seek hegemony over the people. They acknowledged that the success and future of the Republic was dependent on the honor and integrity of its leaders and citizens. As John Adams wrote, "Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
The potential downfall of the United States is not to be caused solely by the incestuous makeup of the current ruling class, but by its abandonment of morals and religion.
Today the Obama administration, the majority of the members of Congress, and much of the judiciary, as well as academia and the media, represent the culmination of the degradation of ethics and character within that class.
The die was cast in the early part of the 20th century, when Congress and the president discovered that they could bribe the public with the public's money. The focus of politics began to shift from public service and adherence to the Constitution to seeking, centralizing, and maintaining power, as well as amassing individual wealth. That approach also began to slowly seep into the psyche of the rest of the ruling class.
Society and government thus began the long, steady process of compromising the age-old standards of ethics: honesty and integrity, which were based on Judeo-Christian teachings.
Each step down that road was justified either as a moral or societal imperative (such as re-defining a "right") or a necessity to save people from themselves.
As government began to be more intrusive and centralized, the heady tonic of near-omnipotent authority and adulation moved many in politics to do or say anything to preserve or achieve elected office.
In the field of education, it became a requisite to teach that there are no absolutes and no moral or ethical guidelines except to do whatever makes one "happy." Any problems simply create demand for new programs, which furthers the consolidation of authority in the hands of a few. Any mention of God was eliminated, as religious values undermine the process of corrupting and remaking society.
The mainstream media, once the watchdog of government wrongdoing, was captured by ideology, lifestyle, and the need for celebrity status. Thus, to the vast majority in that profession, it was more important to be in the thrall of whatever is fashionable as established by the media elites rather than uphold the traditions of honest news-gathering.
To all these groups and others within the ruling class, truth and facts have become casualties and have been replaced by outright lies or obfuscations euphemistically referred to as "spin." This gradual degradation of integrity and ethical standards has allowed for the acceptance of a philosophy espoused by despots throughout history, and one that forms the underpinning of the character of President Obama, his administration, a majority in Congress, and an unfortunate plurality among the ruling class.
The doctrine of the end justifies the means represents the epitome of corruption in any society and the ultimate demise of that same society. Any leader within government or the national community at large who is captive to that thinking must by necessity be devoid of ethics, integrity, or morals.
Thus:
Such people must be willing, as was President Obama, to lie to achieve their ends, such as the deliberate falsehoods, obfuscations, and manipulation of data that took place during the passage of health care and other legislation. These lies are now coming to light after the health care bill and others were passed.
There is no hesitation to flout the rule of law and the Constitution, as President Obama did, in the takeover of General Motors, Chrysler, the banks, insurance companies, and the appointment of numerous "czars" in avoidance of congressional approval.
The media is willing to use the power of the press -- not to report, but to manipulate or omit the news to favor their preferred politician or cause and maintain their place in the ruling class.
Politicians and special interest groups are willing to foment racial tensions by inciting animosity and fear among the populace in order to maintain power.
President Obama and his left-wing cohorts are willing through inconceivable but deliberate levels of deficit spending to place the country on a collision course with national bankruptcy in order to advance a radical agenda which will permanently empower the current ruling class.
Recently, much has been made of the lack of leadership displayed by the president. Many point to his inexperience in executive management. However, as former President Dwight Eisenhower once said, "The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity." The current occupant of the White House and much of the ruling class are bereft of that quality.
A national leader or a member of the ruling class without honor and integrity cannot be trusted; he cannot act in the best interest of others, only himself. He is captive to ideology and incapable of change as he surrounds himself with sycophantic philosophical soul mates. He cannot abide criticism, constructive or otherwise, as he will always view it through the lens of personal insecurity -- thus, truth becomes a casualty of unrestrained narcissism. He cannot assume responsibility for failure and must look for others to blame. Without honor and integrity as the foundation of his character, failure and further erosion of the future of the country will follow in his footsteps.
The United States is staring into an abyss unimagined fifteen, twenty-five, or fifty years ago. The possibility that the country as it was founded 223 years ago will cease to exist is no longer the subject of fiction writers. The people of this great nation must understand that they cannot turn to the ruling class for solutions, as not only is this source of leadership incapable of providing it, but its members are the catalyst for the country's potential demise.
The time is now for a peaceful revolution to overthrow the current ruling class. The citizens of the United States must not only elect representatives with proven integrity and character, but also recognize the importance of those traits in their own lives. They must return to being the religious and moral people John Adams referred to. Only then can this current ruling class be replaced by one that reflects the true greatness of this country.
