A Breed Apart

Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents, as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate in their burdens."--George Mason, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 17, 1788

Let's examine this quote for a moment. What is its meaning?

I might summarize thusly:

Unless each branch of government -- Legislative, Judicial, Executive -- suffers like the people their decisions affect. . .

Then nothing in Washington or in the halls of each state capital will change.

Both sides of the aisle purposely exclude themselves from most every law they enact, ruling they produce, decision they make. They are insulated by wealth, status, distance and security.

That, you see, is the foundation for the bulk of the problems we in the United States face today.

James Bryce, a British historian and professor, wrote The American Commonwealth in 1888. Bryce argued that the largest threat to personal freedom wasn't the "tyranny of the majority." He believed the "fatalism of the multitude" posed a much larger danger; that is to say, as the electorate tends to disengage and disinvest in the system, the door opens to greater corruption and arbitrary rule. As it was once said, local city councils and such are, these days, naught but "training camps" for abuse and dishonesty. For the precise reason I posit above.

We The People have created an elite class, a ruling class, of so-called "civil servants" whose sole purpose is to serve themselves.

Until this changes, nothing else will change.

BZ