Every nation gets the government it deserves.
— Joseph de Maistre, August 15, 1811 letter
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure.
-Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
A republic, if you can keep it.
-Benjamin Franklin, to a Philadelphia society lady upon walking out of the Constitutional Convention
How can a people be persuaded to preserve their republic if they don’t understand the intellectual, moral, and legal foundation on which their republic rests?
In 1795, James Madison wrote a letter that encapsulates the most important civics lesson that most Americans never learned.
Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
Tucker Carlson is on a mission to save the American Republic from “war, the parent of armies [the military-industrial complex] debts, and taxes.”
He agrees with James Madison that “of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded.”
Like me, he long ago came to the conclusion that all the ruinous wars the US has fought in the Middle East since 2001 do NOT serve the American people, only special interests and lobbies.
In the year 2000, the US national debt was $5.7 trillion. Just 26 years later, it’s bumping up on $40 trillion, and it’s no secret that the US government is finding it harder and harder to find large buyers of US debt. Currently the government must make interest payments of at least $1.2 trillion annually, with annualized run-rates approaching $1.38 trillion. This translates to roughly $3 billion per day or over $30,000 every second.
We are looking at a huge house of cards, and God only knows what risks are accumulating in it.
I frequently receive messages from readers—as well as from people in my extended family and social circle—urging me to be more supportive of Donald Trump’s ongoing proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and his war on Iran.
Sadly—given that I find myself increasingly socially isolated—I cannot agree with them, because I cannot unlearn forty years of diligent study of history and political philosophy. I KNOW where this ship of state is headed — i.e., straight into an iceberg.
As far as I can see, Tucker Carlson is the ONLY man of substantial influence in the Republic who has a clear concept of what needs to be done to save the Republic, and who is consistently speaking out in the public forum to to achieve this mission.
He knows as well as I do that every great power in history has fallen not as a result of external enemies and pressures, but because the nation’s leadership and people lost their identity and sense of purpose as a nation.
This will certainly happen to the US Constitutional Republic, just as death will eventually come for all of us. The question is how long can this final day of reckoning be postponed. I applaud Tucker Carlson for making such a valiant effort to persuade the American people to understand and to preserve what we inherited from our forefathers.
If the great French diplomat and political philosopher, Joseph de Maistre, were alive today, he would probably advise Mr. Carlson that most of the American people deserve war, debt, and taxes because they persist in going along with and even defending their insane government.
I believe that Mr. Carlson understands that his effort may well prove to be in vain, but that he will either succeed in making a difference or die trying.
OMG. I knew you were lost, but I did not realize how lost you really are. Tucker Carlson is a black souled, grifting, lying, amoral thug. He pretends to only just ever ask questions and platforms people who think Winston Churchill was the bad guy and straight out lie about history. I don't know what is wrong with you, but you are on the wrong side. There are two sides here, good and evil. Tucker Carlson is on the side of evil. If you are on his side, then you are on the side of evil. Maybe look into Milton Friedman who wasn't completely focused and down on national debt and was more focused on the potential for economic growth. Tucker is gone. So are you. I know, I know...it's the Jews.
I respectfully disagree about this war.
Trump was and remains antiwar. By now, any other leader would have put boots on the ground.
I think, as a student of history myself, his goal is not to destroy Iran's government and install a friendlier one. I think his goal is to make Iran and the Strait of Hormuz inconsequential.
Hear me out...please.
Saudi Arabia is pumping more oil by pipeline now than ever.
The US is at an all time high in our domestic oil production. We are encouraging Venezuala to ramp up production as well.
Only 20% of the entire world's supply of oil comes through the Strait of Hormuz. Quite frankly, we can live without them. China probably can't. Russia has their own supply.
Trump quietly signed a deal for access of the Strait of Malacca during the beginning of this Iran thing. Nobody reported on this....it may become VERY important.
Trump is using more economic pressure than any predecessor and only intermittently using military force.
I am trying not to sound like a Trump sycophant, I really am.....but Trump IS different.
He doesn't follow the same playbook as those before him and surprise is a large part of his strategy. Unprecedented has been used so often, it's gotten old.
I never voted before 2016. I never saw any real difference in candidates. They were all just different flavors of the same ice cream...even Reagan. I'm 62 now. The things Trump does and says are different than ANY that came before.
Of course, he's crude and narcissistic and obnoxious, but I think he needs to be. I think a 'nicer' and more polished President would not be able to turn around the speeding train.
One of my favorite lines from a movie comes from Dolores Claiborne......'"Sometimes, Dolores... sometimes you have to be a high-riding bitch, to survive. Sometimes, being a bitch, is all a woman has to hang onto." Now, obviously, Trump is not a woman....but you get the point.
Sometimes to accomplish things, you have to be the worst version of yourself.
I still haven't lost faith......mainly in God and his ability to use imperfect beings.