Sometimes you just have to pull back the curtain to see what is happening.
The danger of factions.
I wrote this post on Dec. 28, 2017, amidst concerns of overreaching partisan positions and factions. Concerns that the centrist portions of each party not holding accountable the extreme wings of the party and not distancing themselves clearly from not just the extremist factions in the other party but also, and more importantly, those dangerous factions hiding in the tall weeds of their own parties. Applies to the Democratic AND the Republican Party with equal validity and force. I will not dignify the violence, the hate, the demagoguery or encourage fruitless debate by naming these groups.
However, I was reluctant to take a pedantic journey down history until I saw the “spit and fire” from both sides to the salacious rumor-mongering and inaccuracies that populate the recent book, “Fire and Fury” in the Trump White House.
Here we are facing a multitude of significant and urgent issues facing the country and many, many of its citizens, now and future generations. Yet, both sides operate with no sense of perspective or proportionality and continue playing whack the weasel on every issue. Reminds me of the old parlor tricks of insurance defense lawyers who lay out rabbit trails and weasels to occupy the other side from the real issues and the weakness of their positions. A strategy of confound, confuse, and conflate.
A key element of this problem is factions. Factions within the party, factions supported outside the party, factions who use the party.
Palace intrigue is intriguing, but that is all it is. Strong personalities have strong opinions and strong positions. Lower-level staff members have their own agenda with hopes and dreams of appearing to be the true power behind the throne. If you have watched “Victoria”, “The Crown”, “Reign”, “Downton Abbey”, etc. you will see it is part and parcel of politics. And, Rome had it, King Saul and later King David had it. Read the book of Esther for an interesting tale, as well. You might even say Eve got caught up in it as well from the master deceiver Lucifer who was thrown out of heaven for his power play.
And yes, some of the worst factions are elected representatives with states and municipalities effectively promoting local rule, states rights, and secessionist ideas under the guise of “Sanctuary” states and cities.
And now for my original post.
Our nation is a nation of laws. We are a Constitutional Republic. These words written by James Madison in Federalist Papers No. 10 should provide a cautionary tale for us all by this founding father’s prescience and concerns. When asked at the Conclusion of the Constitutional Convention whether we had a republic or a monarchy, Benjamin Franklin quipped with a smile of deadly seriousness “A republic, if you can keep it.”
“AMONG the numerous advantages promised by a well constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction. The friend of popular governments never finds himself so much alarmed for their character and fate, as when he contemplates their propensity to this dangerous vice. He will not fail, therefore, to set a due value on any plan which, without violating the principles to which he is attached, provides a proper cure for it. The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished; as they continue to be the favorite and fruitful topics from which the adversaries to liberty derive their most specious declamations. The valuable improvements made by the American constitutions on the popular models, both ancient and modern, cannot certainly be too much admired; but it would be an unwarrantable partiality, to contend that they have as effectually obviated the danger on this side, as was wished and expected.”
* * *
“By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.
There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects.
There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests.”
IMHO. Power in our country was diluted the purpose of which is to protect our freedom and liberty. Power is thus diluted among our three branches of government; between the federal and state governments; and between the respective citizens amongst each other by virtue of our civil liberties, civil rights, and civil responsibilities in a nation of laws.
The factions of today should be concerning for all. The polarization of political parties, factions, groups, states, and more may be a blip in the history of our nation or they may be a step towards revolution.
The freedom of speech and assembly are nearly absolute civil liberties on one end with the freedom not to listen and reject the speech on the other end. The glue that holds the two extremes together to avoid anarchy, civil war, insurrection, and chaos is our rule of law and our respect for each other’s person and property with a healthy dose of manners, civility, empathy, tolerance, and other virtues we learned from our faith, our family, our friends.
Just think about that today when you support those who espouse views to shut others up by their unlawful assembly, violence and protest in cities, college campuses and other gatherings.
Think about the rule of law when cities and states ignore our Constitutional framework, our laws to pursue a sanctuary status for lawbreakers; trampling the rights of some while showing favoritism for others. That is not the rule of law; not equal justice under the law. It’s a recipe that breaks the constitutional and social pact that binds us as a nation.
Click on Federalist Number 10, James Madison.