In Paper We Trust?
February 2001
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This is a subject I discussed often before Chalcedon was founded, and in the early years thereafter. I then stopped because I assumed everyone knew of my view, but I find that this is not now true. Hence this brief statement.
Thanks to the Constitution's 22nd Amendment, on January 20, 2001, we were spared the ongoing debauchery of arguably the most depraved and destructive United States President in recent memory, perhaps in the history of the office of the Presidency.
The 2000 U. S. Presidential election will be long remembered. The scenes of lawyers, politicians, judges, and election officials debating how to interpret "the will of the people" by examining oddly marked ballots were ominous signs that reveal something disturbing about our legal system.
One of the great fallacies of the modern age has been the trust in documents, contracts, by-laws, and constitutions. In the area of civil government, we can indeed say that constitutionalism marked a major advance in history, but a serious question remains.
I came across an article almost two years ago that caused me to cast an analytical eye on what is taking place in our culture. In an article entitled "Is Sex Dead," Lesley Dormen reported, "Now that women feel entitled to, equipped for, and skilled at high-performance sex, many report that the men with whom they expect to share it would rather roll over and go to sleep and that they themselves are increasingly not in the mood."
"Gore won the popular vote by more than 300,000 votes and yet George W. Bush will be president because of an outdated provision of the Constitution. This is a tragedy for the country. Where is the outrage? Why aren't the people showing more concern? This isn't democracy." — Gus Lovett, Sacramento Bee, letter-to-the-editor
This article is not for the faint of heart, the idealistic, or the politically naïve. It will challenge your preconceived notions about the alleged "objectivity" of the American political system.
When we place our hope in rulers to bring substantive change in a nation, we too often forget that we must have a people with changed hearts before we can as a people dwell in a changed nation.
Several weeks ago, while at the state capitol, I had the opportunity to observe behind-the-scene activities involving a fight for tax reduction for working class families.
Frequent appeals for justice have punctuated both political commentary and man-on-the-street interviews since November 7, 2000.
Why don't the wealthy give more to charity? After having worked with high income and high net-worth clients for years, our experience would conclude that there seems to be one of two possible explanations for this phenomenon.