(Reposted from old blog on Blogger Tuesday, January 19, 2010)
The experiment of republic-style government in America is being closed down, I think. We have had over 200 years of it now. We should have had it right by now, but in these last few years we seem to have made a mess of it. I think we are seeing it end before our very eyes.
The first government was established in the Garden when, after the fall, God put Adam in charge of the family unit. He was assigned to be the decision-maker. By the time of Moses, a multi-layered organizational structure was needed to help handle those decisions.
Then came the day that Israel demanded a different form of government and God let them have it. They wanted a king, not a priest. Of course, that didn’t work out too well…
Over the thousands of years of human history many forms of governing have been tried: dictatorships, monarchies, republics and everything in between. In some eras and some parts of the world, years of anarchy separated these governmental forms.
Certain types seem to outlast others, their longevity depending on many factors. The culture. The societal structure. Character, personality and intelligence, education, wisdom, determination and zeal of leaders. Number of advisers. Number of subjects. Wealth or lack of natural and human resources.
Some forms don’t last. Government by committee doesn’t last. Benevolent dictatorship or monarchy last longer. But few nation-wide governmental experiments last more than a couple of hundred years, and ours may have run its course. America doesn’t resemble the country I grew up in.
What’s next? Socialism? That’s been tried multiple times elsewhere and failed each time. Humans who can never be perfect and don’t really love their fellow man claim it’s just never been done right. But like every other imperfect human they won’t be able to keep their fingers out of the public till. That try will fail too.
We’ll see. Whoever it is that chooses, and I believe somebody is out there doing the choosing, is watching this American experiment wind down. I’m interested to see what develops over the next decade.
