I have never written something with such a political
overtone as this. So, before I start to dive in, let’s get a bit acquainted.
For all of those who despise the hyper-educated I have good news; I just missed
getting my degree in theatre at a small public university in California. I have
no BA, no Masters, no PhD. I haven’t studied political science or sociology, so
no erudite musings based on deep learning from an intellectual snob. For those
of you who would now like to dismiss me as a bumbling bumpkin; you should know
that my parents also went to college. And spent the 50’s and 60’s hanging out
with a sassy group of the intelligentsia from the University of Chicago with a
Stanford and a Cal alum for good measure. My mom worked in the art world (still
does) and my dad was a 20th century raconteur which means he was
really smart, had a remarkable wit, drove a cab, did odd jobs, and drank too
much most of his life. So, between these two, at the end of the day I am an
intellectual mutt with just enough original thought to let me think I’m
interesting.
This brings me to why we’re here. At this time, I find
myself on the edge of grief for the loss of a nation seeded in democratic
principles laid out in magnificent imperfection by our Founding Fathers. Over
the past few weeks, I have been reading (very slowly) The Quartet by Joseph J
Ellis which is an in depth look at the time between the end of the American
Revolution and the ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights (my
summary, not his; apologies Mr. Ellis). Reading about this time in the formation
of our Nation has given me great comfort during these tumultuous times for the
simple reason that we were terribly screwed up then just as we are now.
Hopelessly divided; 13 states in a confederation with wildly varying degrees of
agreement on the idea of a Federal government, let alone the creation of one.
Machinations and orchestrations on all sides to sway the outcome, a distrusted
press, and rhetoric that was, shall we say, off the charts. It is really quite
notable we are here at all. But the one
unifying theme upon which all could agree was that “We” would not be ruled. The
idea of Monarchy; a single person to rule the confederation of states which was
to become the United States was abhorrent. It flew in the face of all that was
“the cause” of 1776 – Independence. Independence from England; from King George
III; from governance without representation; from all that was the slightest
whiff of the idea of King; of one man above others; of one who intrinsically
knows what is best for us. It is this repugnance of the idea of a sovereign
that is at the very core of what it means to be American; it is the belief that
pulled us from a disparate set of arguing states into the greatest democratic
republic the world has ever seen.
And it is this very issue which I will rail against in the
21st century with the same fervor as our Founding Fathers; those
famer soldiers; those subjects turned citizen patriots. So, the next time you
hear someone in the Executive Branch threaten a state which stands for its
people, withholds support from a governor based on party; sets the military
against the people, or talks of a free press as an enemy, you are hearing the
rustlings of one who thinks we are to be ruled. And so, I say to you, which is
it? Citizen or Subject? For me, I choose the Spirit of 76, I choose independent
thought, I choose citizen.
