HenryBriggsColumn

We are a country founded on two unintentional, fundamental flaws.

Jefferson’s iconic 1776  phrase “all men are created equal”  in declaring independence from King George, III was the first flaw. “All men” skipped all Black men and all women because all Blacks and all women were less than equal to White men. 

OK, White women were not slaves, although not a few were treated that way. 

And OK, Jefferson later seemed to regret his writing, a little.  He freed 2 slaves while he was alive and 5 more at his death – out of 600. 

Blacks were given a step up toward equality, the right not to be slaves, 87 years later (1863). Women received the right to vote 144 years later (1920) and the right to abortion 197 years later (1973). 

49 years after receiving that right (2022) and 246 years after “all men are created equal,” a woman’s right to abortion was curtailed by a Supreme Court… dominated by men.

Today, 249 years after the Declaration of Independence, the idea that all people are created equal is far closer to reality than in the Foundng Fathers’ era, but for so many it is still more aspiration than inspiration. And the source of ongoing conflict.

Speaking of the Founding Fathers, here’s second fundamental flaw: a capitalist economic system.

Capitalism arrived in this country in the form of land ownership and slavery soon after the arrival of the first settlers. In the 19th century, it grew into ownership of industry and more. Today it operates in every corner of the country, from the medical system, to the prison system, to food supply, to restaurant chains, to law firms, to school systems, to media companies, and more. 

Business owners, whether running slave farms or hospital chains have one thing in common: the owner – the Boss – operates as a benevolent dictator. The Boss calls all the shots, from hiring and firing, to marketing, to financing, to individual sales, to annual Christmas parties. Need more machines? Want to expand? See the Boss. Want a raise, more staff, better vacation, more widgets?  See the Boss.

In a democracy, there is no dictator. Decisions are made through debate, voting, more debate, more voting. 535 voters in Congress, 9 voters on the Supreme Court and 1 President decide things – after being chosen by hundreds of millions of citizen voters. Democracy takes time, patience, political acumen, and fortitude. 

It is as different from capitalism as men are from women; they coexist, but barely.

When, in the 1800’s, the US wanted to expand west, the slave owners wanted to expand, too. Democracy debated and, with the Missouri Compromise, approved…um… partial expansion. But the conflict didn’t end, eventually exploding into a divorce proceeding, the Civil War. The slave owners lost. But the fundamental conflict between business and democracy continues to this day. 

The best democratic leaders excel at debating, convincing, bargaining, inspiring, schmoozing. The best capitalist dictators excel at making the right universal choices and giving the right universal orders.

It is unusual for a business tycoon to become a successful politician, although there are exceptions (Rockefeller, Romney, Schwarzennager, Bloomberg, Warner, for example.) But they had to drop their dictator techniques in the process.

So how did a country with these two foundational flaws become so successful?

A shared value system. 

From the early settlers to today, the US culture has valued honesty, civility, individual rights, and protection of the minority. Most people trust their government and their fellow citizens. Most follow the law. Most value integrity. They don’t lie, cheat or steal. 

Politicians and capitalists have operated together within this shared value system for almost 250 years as a beacon of success for the entire world, flaws and all.

But today, there is cause for great concern. Our current leader constitutes a third and possibly fatal flaw: he does not share the values.

A failed capitalist (6 bankruptcies), a congenital liar, a convicted felon who thumbs his nose at both the Justice system and the Bill of Rights, a remorseless bully, a fanboy of world dictators, he ignores the law and lacks even basic integrity, instead forcing Mafia Don values onto a democratic government.

The result? A deeply divided country consumed by conflict, distrust, and fear of the future.

I wonder what the Founding Fathers would do. 

Actually, I don’t.

America’s wanna-be king has always liked spectacles, from his publicity seeking bar-crawling as a NY landlord, to his one-line TV stardom (“you’re fired!”), to his paid audience who applauded his ride down the escalator in 2015, to his domination of social and mainstream media as President. 

It has always been about grabbing attention. Why understate when you can overstate? Why overstate when you can create a show? Why create a show when you can create a spectacle?

Israel destroyed most of Iran’s defenses and killed most of it’s leaders over the last 10 days. Then, at Netanyahu’s bidding, Trump ordered 125 aircraft, including seven B-2 Bombers, to attack Iran’s three nuclear sites with 30,000 pound MOP’s (Massive Ordnance Penetrators). First bombing ever: for the B-2 and the MOP’s. No one shot down. No one shot at.

A spectacular military success… in the eyes of Trump.

If any country bombed three US sites, we would be at war. Look what happened when Japan bombed just one site in 1941.

Fear of a real war may be why VP Vance claimed the U.S. wasn’t really at war with Iran, “we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.” Which is like the Japanese saying, “we’re not at war with the US; we’re at war with those ships in Pearl Harbor”.

War is not easy. Just ask Putin, with over a million Russian casualties in 3 years. 

Never mind. He doesn’t care.

In waging war on Iran Trump skipped Congress like many presidents before him. 

In the summer of 1787, the disparate but United States of America formalized the modern world’s first democracy with a patchwork of compromises and principals called the US Constitution. It was designed to prevent the remotest possibility of a kingdom.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 states that “Congress shall have the power to declare war…”, not the President. But they also gave President the right to tell the military what to do. Therein lies one, major, ongoing conflict between Congress and the President.

Congress, in its collective wisdom, has only declared war 5 times since the founding: the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II. We won four, lost one.

US Presidents frequently ignore the War Powers Clause. Since WWII, they’ve started wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan, among many others. Of those we tied one, lost one, won one, tied two. 

Congress, for all its flaws, is pretty wise about wars.

On this one, though, it appears Trump lucked out. Instead of declaring war on the US, Iran launched a few missiles and then accepted a cease-fire offer.

I’ll bet Putin is seething with jealousy right now.(Iпроклинать! Why couldn’t I have attacked Iran instead of Ukraine?)  

Life isn’t fair, Vlad.

Glowing in the media spotlight, Trump wrote last Sunday:  “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change, but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”

In 1953, Britain was obligated to pay royalties to Iran for oil it received from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh attempted to audit the AIOC to verify those royalties were being paid. When AIOC refused, Iran nationalized it’s oil industry and expelled foreign interests.

So Eisenhower and Churchill, leaders of the US and Britain at the time, engineered a coup that demolished Iran’s democracy and replaced it with a kingdom led by Shah Reza Pahlavi, which was upended in 1979 by an Islamic (Muslim) dictatorship led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A brutal, dehumanizing dictatorship.

Now there’s irony. Eisenhower and Churchill, heroic defenders of democracy, created 72 years of autocratic rule in Iran. Spectacular irony.

Do you suppose, after 7 decades, Trump is simply trying to right that wrong? (Do you suppose he even knows about it?) 

Which brings to mind something Trump has buried in an avalanche of Israeli and Iran stories: his abandonment of Ukraine, a democracy as courageous as any in history, as it struggles against Putin’s vicious attempt at regime change. 

Now that’s not just spectacular. It’s a spectacle, of shame, dishonor, cowardice. 

1) When country-wide protests are scheduled from 12:00 to 1:00PM on Saturday, June 14, read the papers and find out the biggest protest in the country will be at LOVE Park in Philadelphia. Ask your family and friends if they’re going to that one.

If the replies are “No, we’re too busy” and,  “It can get dangerous – Look at LA,” and (more than once), “you’re over 80,”  ignore them. But gently. Project, the 80 year old motto: “Been there, done all of that.”

2) Look up SEPTA trains. I mean, who wants to drive, right? Your car might be vandalized or towed, never to be seen again.

3) Look on the internet and learn that you might be arrested and have your phone taken away, or worse, have ICE track your every move… 

…And don’t take your wallet, and if you do, don’t take your credit cards or Medicare cards or cash.  Why? See above.

…And take a bottle of water to use in case you get pepper sprayed by police.

…And be alert. You never know when a Trumper might attack.

…And get a lot of sleep the night before, and eat a big breakfast that morning, because if you get arrested, you get thrown into cramped jails where they don’t feed you or let you sleep.

…And give your kids a time-line, so they’ll know when to send lawyers to look for you, assuming Habeas Corpus still works.

4) Look for an alternative protest site, say West Chester, PA,  and go there. (Actually, you might make this number 1 or 2.)

5) Get there early, and luck into a parking lot a few blocks from the Courthouse and right next to a Farmer’s Market and… doesn’t charge a fee on Saturdays! 

6) Leave your phone in the glove compartment, take your wallet with just your license, along with the water bottle, and a face mask in case you get pepper sprayed – 

Oops! Forgot the mask. Oh sh…!  Oh well…

7)  Walk three blocks, past blocked off streets in which kids are playing and restaurants are serving brunch, to the courthouse,  where early birds have gathered and are chit-chatting, signs by their sides.  Thank the woman who hands you and others tiny American flags, as other wear and wave them. 

(Hey! Does this mean MAGA no longer owns the American flag?)

When a Big Black Pickup roars by, horn blaring, Trump flag flapping above the cab, follow the crowd: a friendly wave, no middle fingers. 

(Wait! I thought these protests were going to be dangerous!)

8) Watch as the crowd builds. Parents with kids, mostly white, some black and brown people, and lots of gray hairs.

(Wow! Other old people!  Cool!)

9) Count the number of times the horn blaring Big Black Pickup roars by.  Three, maybe four, before it gives up and disappears. 

10) Mingle in the crowd as it fills the sidewalks and flows all the way up the steps of the Greek Revival Courthouse, built fourteen years before the Civil War.  Chat with police who are keeping people on the sidewalks and off of the street. 

Me to officer: “How’s it going?” 

Officer:  “Good, thanks. And you?” 

Me: “Yep. Me too.” 

Officer: “Have a good time”. 

11) Go back and get your phone. 

12) Ask a tall guy with a white beard where he  got his t-shirt that says “Presidents are not Kings!” 

“Amazon.” 

Of course. 

Chat with him and his wife…“It’s unbelievable.” “Marines on the streets of LA, squaring off against fellow citizens.” “How could a Marine grab that guy!?”

13) Look around and notice how many people are older, some wearing Army fatigues, some with crutches, one lady in a wheel chair. Commiserate with them about never- ever- imagining this country could fall so far.  

14)  Start taking pictures. Then notice all those signs. Not just “No Kings” but funny ones, sharp ones, emotional ones. 

An elementary school boy carrying a sign as tall as he is:  “I pledge allegiance to the flag, not a dictator” 

A gray hair’s t-shirt: “Vets Against Trump” 

A middle aged woman’s hand-written: ”Ice is best when crushed”

A gray hair’s: “Jail to the Chief”

A mom-type: “are we great yet? I’m just embarrassed” 

A 20-something: “So much wrong, so little cardboard”

Indeed.

“No Faux King”

“Alexa, Change the President” 

“Do Not Reign on us” 

“86-47 No Kings No Nazis” 

“No Dick Tator”

“Orange Lies Matter”

”Keep the immigrants, Deport the fascists!” 

“I don’t usually carry a sign but WTF!” 

“If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention” 

“Is he dead yet?” 

15) Just before 1:00PM struggle through the dense throng. “Excuse me. Just trying to beat the crowd.” People smile and squeeze aside to make room. Back to the car. Drive home, stopping for Mexican food.

16) Enjoy feeling energetic, charged, hopeful.

In the summer of 1777, some very bright, very dedicated people cobbled together the US Constitution. It was considered imperfect at best, because there were so many compromises in it. In fact, some of the writers expected it not to last more than 25 years.

One of the items was the Presidential pardon. They figured that, although President could never be a king, it would be nice to give him the power of a pardon should the Justice System fail and innocent people need help.

Sweet, huh?

In 1985 Mitch McConnell III became Kentucky’s Senator. He is the longest serving Senate party leader in US History: Senate minority leader from 2007 – 2015; Senate majority leader from 2015-2021; Senate minority leader from 2021-2024. During those 40 years he has successfully pursued a life-long goal of filling the Judiciary with conservative judges, including the six out of nine in the current Supreme Court.  

It’s not the Roberts Supreme Court; it’s the McConnell Supreme Court.

In 1991, Clarence Thomas, supported by McConnell,  became the second African American justice of the Supreme Court after Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Justice and one of the best justices in US history.  

Thomas’ confirmation was challenged by Professor Anita Hill of Brandeis University who accused him of sexual harassment. The Senate, led by Joe Biden, defended Thomas and crushed Professor Hill. During his tenure, Thomas has accepted free vacations and free loans, $2.4 million so far, with another $1.8 million probable.  

Thomas is no Thurgood Marshall.

McConnell backed him in 1991, as he did Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, who was also accused of sexual harassment, this time by another professor, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. (Actually Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexual “assault”, not “harassment. I know,  tomato – tomato, right?)

Clearly integrity has been less of a requirement for McConnell than a conservative bent.

In 2010, the McConnell Supreme Court ruled that restricting corporations or unions from donating to political campaigns restricted free speech, in effect saying that corporations and unions (with a few or thousands of workers) had the same rights as individual Americans. 

Big Money has run politics ever since.

On July 1, 2024, Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, all appointed during Mitch McConnell’s terms, ruled that a president has immunity from prosecution for criminal acts.

We now have the most corrupt, money grubbing President in history. Between 140,000 people (claimed by the Trump administration) and around 40,000 people (according to news reports) have been deported this year, in defiance of the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. The amount of money collected by Trump from foreign leaders as well as US billionaires, in defiance of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, is unknown, but large, including his new Air Force One,  Crypto profits, Gold Card visa program, etc… 

So, to review: 

1) Like most contemporary politicians, national and local, Trump got elected by Big Money, this despite no political experience, a record of six bankruptcies, racism, constant lies (30,000 in his first term alone), etc…  

2) The McConnell Supreme Court has given Trump, as President, immunity for any crime, for example: sending 40 thousand people to San Salvador prisons without due process.

3) Trump can order his underlings to commit any crime and simply pardon them if they’re caught, for example: Jan 6. insurrection.

Only kings and dictators can do that, right?