“Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people. When the people give way, their deceivers, betrayers, and destroyers press upon them so fast, that there is no resisting afterwards. The nature of the encroachment upon the American constitution is such, as to grow every day more and more encroaching. Like a cancer, it eats faster and faster every hour. The revenue creates pensioners, and the pensioners urge for more revenue. The people grow less steady, spirited, and virtuous, the seekers more numerous and more corrupt, and every day increases the circles of their dependents and expectants, until virtue, integrity, public spirit, simplicity, and frugality, become the objects of ridicule and scorn, and vanity, luxury, foppery, selfishness, meanness, and downright venality swallow up the whole society. ”
— John Adams, Novanglus Letters, 1774
It is obvious that our forefathers were cognizant to the fact that the system that they created, even with a Constitution, check and balances, and power concentrated in the States, depended on the good judgment prevalent in the citizenship. It is also a fact that the culture necessary for our survival and that made this country and its federalist republic the best in the world is rapidly eroding and we might be in the road to anarchy, the last step necessary to have a strong type of governing take over. There are some that believe that we are the victims of a premeditated plan, established by some “secret cabal” that will soon rule. I disagree. Throughout our existence different civilizations have progressed through a series of enlighten, values, individual freedom and responsibility, to progress, affluence and then destruction of ideals, erosion of authorities, establishment of tyrannies and final destruction, to be followed by a renaissance and another cycle. Every society starts with a nucleus, family, and develops through education, beliefs, and an innate desire to be free in the real meaning of the word, the right to life as chosen and responsibility for its actions. Adams had the foresight in his letters to realize that dependency inexorably led to a renunciation to the right to live freely.
The reaction to the death of a young black by the hands of a policeman in Fergusson, Missouri and the response by our leaders was akin to a provocation for violence, when an action based on a criminal act, was labeled as a sign of racism and an excuse, if not overtly condoning, for more criminality. Our President Obama tried to balance his statements between using race and condemning overreaction. He though sought to work on the race problem and excesses of the police, rather than on the real causes, the abundance of criminality in the black society and the reasons of why this imbalance, as compared with the rest of the population, exist.
Inexplicable, seating among others with our President was Sharpton, a so called leader with a chequered past and one that fosters violence as a justification for past oppressions and one that makes his living on the backs of keeping that minority demoralized. Statistics show that as a percentage of the population “legal intervention” was needed around 3 times more in blacks than whites, many times causing death. This often cited number fails to take into account that, also as a percentage, felonies were committed more than 3 fold by blacks over whites. Also proving the point I am making, when social status, like poverty, family, education, etc., were taken into account the rates were similar between the races. Are we going to let our rulers to continue to erode the system and fulfill our forefather’s worse fears? or are we going to reject these false rulers, and take over our lives, our families, our education, health, responsibilities, and freedom. When the African American community decides to exercise the ideals that are ingrained in them and assume responsibility for themselves, and our government provides equal opportunity, as in school choice, then they will be able to eliminate, once and for all, the lingering malaise of discrimination.
Fernando J Milanes MD
