We Are All Fascists Now

Roger Koppl:

"We have forgotten the foundations of liberty and we may not have long to save them from oblivion. The search to recover our lost heritage of liberty will begin when we question the leadership principle, when we begin to wonder what might keep our “leaders” from oppressing us. The search to recover our lost liberty will begin, in other words, when we remember to ask the question the ancient Roman satirical poet Juvenal asked: Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? “And who will guard the guardians themselves?” The search to recover our lost liberties will have been put on the right path when we remember the marvelously compact lesson in good government provided by James Madison’s defense of the Constitutional system of checks and balances.

But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.

Madison’s “auxiliary precautions” have been swept away by militarism, collective economics, and the leadership principle. It is time to recall the lessons of Juvenal and Madison. It is time to turn away from state power and the leadership principle. We are all fascists now. Let us remember, however, that we were once Americans and can be so again if we so choose."

Well put.