Backcountry Notes

It has gotten to the point where I wince every time I hear or read someone calling for the "restoration" of "civility" in American politics. Such plaints are either naive or sinister -- mostly, I suspect, the latter, since "civility" in the context of politics is a code word which means "putting the muzzle on the opposition." Clearly, what President Obama intends when he calls for "civility" in the health care debate is that his opponents shut up and concede that an Obamacare bill will be rammed through Congress.

Mistake me not -- I do not condone rude or obnoxious behavior in public discourse. But that is not what the "civility" advocates are targeting.  Certainly, one can be polite while explaining, for example, that someone else is a corrupt jackass who should be removed from office.

The Democratic Left, having engaged in the most uncivil discourse imaginable for a half-dozen or so years, has suddenly become the leading proponent of "civility." This should tell you all you need to know about the motivations which underlie the "civility" pleas.  They know that citizens become weary of political squabbles and they hope to fool voters into believing that their new-found love of "civility" is commendable.

On the naïveté side, a belief that there ever was or ever can be "civility" in American politics betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of politics and government. The naive believe that government will function better if only we can all be civil and well-mannered about the process. News flash for the naive: what you see happening in Washington now is American government at its best.

I repeat, at the risk of being rude and obnoxious: what you see happening in Washington now is American government at its best.

Government is by its nature self-serving, corrupting, and wasteful. Government is useful to the extent that certain problem-solving functions must necessarily be handled collectively and by force or threat of force; beyond strict necessity, government is wasteful at best and harmful at worst. The true nature of the Federal government has been put on display in the last year of the George W. Bush administration and the first year of the Barack Obama administration in its full, Technicolor, surround-sound glory. What the naive don't realize, or don't want to admit, is that this is the reality of government.

And this is why the Founders of this Republic intended limited powers for the Federal government, and why we need to restore, not civility, but restraints on the power of government.

It seems inevitable that the reins of government sooner or later fall into the hands of an elite. The United States government is now effectively controlled by an elite which doesn't admit its existence but which is very real. The members of this elite like to refer to themselves as "the best and the brightest." They effectively control both Washington and Wall Street and frequently move between those two venues.  Like all elites, they believe that they know what is best and that they are entitled to govern.

Our present governing elite, which includes both Democrats and Republicans, became entrenched by using tax revenues to buy votes. When their various social engineering policies failed and the economy tanked, the elite did what elites always do -- it protected itself.  Washington bailed out Wall Street, bigtime, and then bought votes wholesale with a "stimulus" package loaded with pet projects and payoffs. Note well that most of the jobs "saved" by the stimulus spending were government jobs.

What enables this elite to continue in power is the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, authorizing Congress to impose taxes on incomes. Our money thus becomes its money, and so-called "Federal"  money is used to pursue its agenda.  The states have been reduced to subservience by a simple technique -- income earned by their citizens is taxed by the Federal government, which then doles out "Federal dollars" to state governments with strings attached.

The process has now run completely out of control. The income tax has been revealed as a tool of evil which will, if left in place, destroy the liberties of the citizen who pay it.

The simplest solution is to repeal the 16th Amendment. No more Federal income tax.  Of course, the prospects of that are nil unless some serious changes are made in Congress and in many state governments. Yet I believe that it will happen -- if not before national bankruptcy, then shortly thereafter.

Which brings me back to "civility." The closer our country comes to financial meltdown, the more insecure the position of the "best-and-brightest" elite -- and the more we will hear calls for "civility." Translation: "we know what's best for you; we're the ones entitled to govern; shut up and pay your taxes."

The only intelligent response to that is "civility be damned."

FURTHER READING:

Obama calls for return to civility in politics

Elder Bush decries lack of civility in politics

Civility in Politics: A Modern Myth

Politics: Is Civility Dead?

A call for civility in politics: Where have you been?