Abraham Lincoln ended his Gettysburg Address with the words "... that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."  That ideal of Lincoln's has been taught in civic classes for generations.

But how true is it today?  In Washington, do we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people?

Consider three flashpoint issues — prayer in schools, abortion, and homosexual "marriage."  These were never demanded or approved of by the people or the people's representatives.  They were literally imposed on the country by the Supreme Court.  The only vote taken on these critical matters was that of nine unelected justices who twisted the Constitution to arbitrarily overturn centuries of tradition and codified law.

To illustrate our current situation, consider a Venn diagram, where one circle is the government and the other is the country.  Ideally these two are supposed to tightly overlap.  But as time has gone by and as the federal government grew larger and larger, a disconnect occurred.  The overlap between the government and the people has shrunk considerably.  It's now at the point where the government in many instances considers itself its own independent entity.  This has been clearly shown in the past four years with the bureaucrats' war against President Trump and now the election steal of 2020.  In both cases, there has been no real accountability for the blatant misconduct by government officials.  

To our Venn diagram, add a third circle for the monied special interest groups.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Big Pharma, and the teachers' unions are prime examples.  China can be added to this category, too.  Special interest groups now have a tremendous overlap with government.  One hand washes the other.  At The Conservative Treehouse, Sundance explains this.  Legislation is not written by our representatives.  It is written by special interest entities and presented to Congress to rubber-stamp.  Those in Congress pass legislation that they haven't read.  This is why when asked what is in Obamacare, Nancy Pelosi said: "We first have to pass it to see what's in it."  She herself, the speaker of the House, didn't know.  Obamacare is not unique in this matter.  The same can be said for most legislation.

And look at the 2008 bailout and the recent COVID-19 ones.  Big money goes to banks and Wall Street and a pittance to small businesses and individuals.  The Mises Institute homes in on Larry Summers, the former secretary of the Treasury and adviser to Barack Obama and Joe Biden.  Summers is a man whose opinion reflects those of many government insiders, the technocracy, Wall Street, and the wealthy elites.  He is enthusiastic about bailouts for banks and Wall Street but not when they include direct payments to taxpayers.  Summers even opposes the $600 for individuals in the current bailout package.  Incredibly out-of-touch Summers says Americans don't lack funds.  Rather, demand in the economy is weak because people "can't take a flight or out go to a restaurant."  Giving individuals $600 in chump change would "risk overheating the economy," this former high-level political appointee and president of Harvard claims.

One result of Washington's incestuous relationship with the monied special interest groups is that the wealth of the top 10 percent grows by leaps and bounds while the middle class stagnates and falls behind.  Statistics show that since 1989 to 2016, wealth inequality has grown tremendously in the U.S.  This did not happen by accident.  No wonder faith and trust in government institutions continue to plummet.

None of the above is reflective of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The point to remember is that the U.S. government is not synonymous with America, the country.  The root of this problem is that government is too big.  It intrudes in every aspect of life and commerce.  This invites special interest groups to game the system for their own narrow ends, undermining the common good and corrupting civic virtue.  People will not regain their power (and freedom) until government is reduced in size.  Current trends do not look promising for this.  People have to rise up and demand reform.  But can they when they are continually and deliberately kept divided?  It may be that government has to first choke on its own complexity, contradictions, and false narratives before meaningful changes in government can be made.  Hopefully, this will happen before the Republic is smothered.