Government and Us

Following the recent U.S. national elections, the idea of "too much government" is a popular topic. "The rent is too damn high" candidate provided a comic, but really serious insight to the intrusiveness of government.Is this notion of an intrusive government a valid notion? I think it is. History over the most recent century or so clearly shows that liberty and freedom are welcomed. It is also clear that freedom is highly correlated to economic progress (higher standards of living) as well as a lessening of national aggression towards a nation's neighbors. So, why do political leaders or those aspiring to political leadership continue act in a way that leads toward larger and more intrusive government. The answer may revolve around power, the way to power, and the security of power.

The definition I wish to focus on for the word, "power" is as follows: the ability to act or produce an effect.It implies authority or the ability to exercise authority. I do not know how many, or what percentage of people seek power, but I sense that it is a large percentage. Most do not seek excess authority and many, having been denied authority, are happy to follow. And many, once having tasted the negative "side-effects" of power and authority are quite happy to give it up. That still leaves a large percentage of people to wish to have power and actively seek it. Since power is the ability to act and the ultimate power is in the legislative and executive branches (the judicial branch has reactive power), "acting" is what they want to do. And, that is why our government grows.

In the modern age, the way to power is reliant on those who provide the support, either financially or with votes. It applies to virtually all governments in this day and age, not just the U.S. Thus, those who support those who seek power expect the one they are supporting to "act", which results in more government.

The security of power is a two-fold phenomenon. Once in power, one must act to hold the position of power. Another aspect that ties back to the way to power is that in times of distress, such as the difficult economic situation of today, people expect action. They want government to solve and deal with their distress rather than deal with it themselves. So, when we look back at history, we see that larger government came about when times were tough, i.e., the 1930s in the U.S.,Weimar Germany leading to Nazi Germany and WWI leading to Soviet Russia as examples.

In my book, The Fall and Rise, Roman Emperors interfered with people in order to improve the ability to raise taxes. They also engaged in activities that inflated the money and persecuted Christians to maintain peace and order. Eventually, efforts to maintain the large Roman Empire failed as we all know.

Dealing with power and the people who seek it will always be with us and dealing with it is difficult. We can only try to understand it, analyze when power is needed and when it isn't and try to exercise some power ourselves to curb the most powerful individuals. The U.S. is far from turning into the final stages of the Roman Empire, but it will take efforts to curb power in regard to growth. And means power will be needed to curb those outside our borders who wish to curb our growth.

Immigration and Identity

As usual, the news (almost anywhere you find it) is providing little understanding to people on the subject of immigration. The emphasis is on illegal immigration and civil rights and has a decided political approach. And, it goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway), the information is presented in the most confrontational way possible. When information is presented in this way, there is usually nothing of value that is passed along.

A better approach is a simple question and answer format; i.e., why are people upset over illegal immigration? The answer may seem simple, but I believe if we delve deeply into the matter we will find that it has to do with a fear of a change in identity. Let's look at it.

For years, even decades, Mexicans have crossed over into the U.S. and it has not been an issue. Why did they come? They came predominantly because they could get a decent paying job in the U.S. We welcomed these Mexicans because we needed their labor and the labor was inexpensive. In otherwords the U.S. benefited from this arrangement. Mexico benefited as well because those immigrants sent much of their money back to Mexico which often help to moderate and stabilize the Mexican economy.

So what has changed within the last few years that has resulted in the controversial Arizona law (SB 1070) and the demonstrations, boycotts and political posturing, even in a time when illegal immigration is declining. What's changed is that the number of Mexicans, both legal and illegal, has grown such that the demographics of Hispanic people has become a more potent force in the culture and, Hispanics are impacting the culture.

The problem with immigration is that when foreigners come into the country they bring their culture with them. One of the most powerful cultural change agents is language. Without ennumerating a large list, suffice it to to say that having two official languages is costly and as well as divisive. And, certainly, it creates two identities within a country.

These powerful influences are not just found in the current U.S./Mexican border situation. As discussed in my new book, "The Fall and Rise," Romans had the same problem with barbarian invasions. The barbarians wanted to be in Rome and be Roman like, but they brought their culture with them. Rome did not fall, it just changed. And, while some U.S. citizens do not want to change, change will come along with a different national identity. Similar situations a are currently being found in Europe and else where around the world. While U.S. immigration policy needs to be re-formed, we will be able to do a better job of reforming if we have a better understanding of how we arrived at the current state of affairs.