Lessons of Presidents

Each president has taught us something, usually a negative lesson. As the threat of authoritarian rule increases in America, ti is good to reflect on what we've learned so far. Most of these lessons are reminders of warning from our founding fathers.

From Bush, we saw that power wielded "for the greater good" was still evil. Domestic spying, foreign invasions, and indefinite detentions were carried out to "help" us, but they only resulted in tearing down our rights and freedoms. The panopticon grew stronger. Bush convinced us to trade liberty for security and reminded us why that exchange is never equivalent.

Obama showed us that politicians who promise "hope and change" will never deliver. Empty rhetoric can inspire and attract, but corruption and abuse of power will lurk behind honeyed words. The use of government agencies to silence and suppress dissent, threats made to the careers of skeptical journalists, and the assassination of American citizens via drones without judge or jury were all from this time.

His supporters also displayed a new level of blind loyalty. All criticism of Obama was "racist." Those who opposed his policies were "traitors." Truth became treason to those who backed the empire of lies. And these were people who had previously spoken (rightly) against the excesses of Bush. Their opposition to authority was revealed not as a matter of principles, but of preferring authority figures who shared their affiliation.

Now we have Trump. What will be his lesson? Using the expanded authority ushered in by Obama, he will wield unprecedented executive power. And his clear disregard for liberty and federalism means he will not hesitate to use it. Even while an "outsider" (a title that can be debated), he will still behave as a central overbearing autocrat. The flaws and failures of Bush and Obama will be repeated. He portrays himself as an outsider and businessman. But while a businessman he may be, he is no capitalist, having made his fortune by exploiting the system.

However, what is on trial with his election is, sadly, capitalism itself. To the average person, Trump IS a capitalist. He is the representative of the free market, given the power and instructed to "drain the swamp" left by his two immediate predecessors. If he fails, the lesson people will take is not "authoritarianism is bad" (the bipartisan lesson of Bush and Obama) but that the free market really is to blame. The rabid insanity of Warren, Sanders, and other socialists and progressives will be held as true.

My primary worry is not a Trump presidency and the apparent madness he brings to the office. It is his highly likelihood of failure - and the madness of the NEXT president. All because we will have failed to learn our lessons.