The One who would be King

 

"In the Land of the Blind, the One Eye Man is King..."

If surrounded by people less capable or able, someone who would not normally be considered special can shine. This is how many fairy tales or fables from yesteryear talk about how a very inept King came into power. Fortunately, today many countries which once had monarchies now have a more democratic form of government. However, once in a while a democratic republic (like ours) elects a president who thinks he is more than his elected title - he believes he might be King.

Kings have subjects and democratic republics have citizens. In a monarchy the subjects serve and work for the King; in a democratic republic the President serves and works for the citizens. Almost 240 years ago this nation fought a costly war of independence to keep from serving a King. In fact, when our system of government was initially set up, it was intentional that power be distributed and not centralized. We intentionally, and collectively, constructed a charter named the Declaration of Independence which defined and limited the powers of government. In short, we as a sovereign nation, had no interest in serving a King.

Sometimes it is good to remind our elected officials which is the tale and which is the dog. Every two years that reminder is to be demonstrated at the voting booth.  People go to Washington to serve, and then after serving, they go home. At least that is how is was suppose to be. We were not to be career politicians, rather citizen legislators. Serve and then be served. As simple as that.

Today, as we tackle some of the toughest issues we have ever faced, we need to remind our newly elected or re-elected public officials that the citizens of this great country deserve better. If the problems are too tough, don't run for office. If problems are difficult, don't blame others, don't blame the weather, don't blame anything. Just fix the problems. Our country was founded and survived in the midst of huge, ugly problems. We became great because our national will allowed us to creatively solve them.

Our history is replete with truth tellers and problem fixers. Yes, we have had big problems in the past. Our true leaders have truthfully told the citizens how the problem happened, and what the country (collectively) needed to do for resolution. Today, E pluribus unum has been replaced with blaming problems on selected segments of the population, and the subsequent remedies accruing to the same. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country" has been besmirched and then replaced with an entitlement worldview. Consequently, many in our country have forgotten our historical democratic roots and are now satisfied with being subjects instead of citizens. As such, Kings are always available to rule - there is never a shortage of monarchs.