Some Native American tribes referred to the U.S. cavalry as “long knives” because they carried swords or sabers. The modern version of a long knife is a politician who claims to represent a certain collection of principles but violates them time after time. He or she is guilty of knifing the gullible constituents in the back. To be candid the mortal wounds are not always the fault of the weasel-like politician. Sometimes the voters just “assume” that a candidate accepts their point of view and fail to properly examine the leader wannabe. The real knife wielders do talk the talk, but when the constituent is busy living life, the politician inserts the blade, rams it in and twists it.
Learning the lingo of a constituency without sharing its priorities or values is the first step in progressive pandering. As we have noted with Mitt Romney, his mastery of the conservative lexicon is lacking, but as the campaign moves forward, his utterances become more palatable to the “base.” He is learning the language and they are ignoring the obvious. We are facing the same stage, same play with different actors. The script is constant, and in our theater of campaign drama we ruefully anticipate the final scene as the big government statists and the latest version of “political wonder-boy” gleefully shove the shivs into our self-deluded backs. Each presentation ends the same. As the curtain falls, we stagger in disbelief that we’ve been misled once again. The searing pain from the knife becomes dull as we ponder how did this happen again?
Admittedly the loosely defined conservative coalition of the GOP has struggled to unite behind a single anti-Establishment, anti-Mitt candidate. The difficulty was that each pretender was overloaded with baggage of varying kinds. Newt’s burden is himself….his personal life, his caustic persona and his flighty inconsistency. Rick Santorum’s steadfast message is appealing to many, but his statist, big government approach and his self-righteous sermonizing turns others away. Dr. Paul (choose one or more of the following complaints) is too old, too non-glamorous, too cranky, too wacko on foreign affairs or (the BIG ONE) too unelectable. It’s odd that many criticize Congressman Paul for his apparent appeal among independents and young people yet believe that the eventual GOP nominee must moderate in order to win independent voters. Can you say cognitive dissonance? Can you say hypocrisy? Can you say philosophical confusion?
Since the beginning of our Republic and its devolution into the “factions” that President Washington decried in his farewell address, we have struggled to hold onto the dream envisioned by the Founders and Framers. The Federalists and Anti-Federalists, Democratic Republicans, Whigs and a host of others have labored to capture their interpretations of the vision. In addition….each faction or party has undergone its own internal battles for purity of message and intensity of purpose. We should understand by this point in our national development that we cannot find the perfect party, candidate or office holder who represents each of our preferences, principles or priorities. Even when we join together for a common purpose, we drift apart because of significant differences and opinions. Our political history illustrates that, at some level, we have maintained our individuality…our uniqueness as children of God and inheritors of liberty. Isn’t it reasonable, therefore, that our closest “ideal” party, candidate or office holder should be one who honors and defends our individual liberty? Why bother trying to form expedient coalitions that are doomed to disintegrate? Why not support those political and social entities that are committed to our personal freedom? It seems that as we strive to unite under false colors, we are merely postponing the eventual dissolution of our weak alliances. We are kicking the can of inevitability down the road with no solid underlying justification for doing so.
As our nation races closer to irrelevance, we may believe that we hear the bugle in the distance as the cavalry rides to rescue our nation from its precarious position. The long knives are coming….just in time to save us from ourselves and our collapse. We must be vigilant, however, that their leader is not the modern-day version of General G.A. Custer and that we have our last stand at Little Big Horn. What is worse…..a knife in the back or an arrow in the heart? The outcomes are the same, but it may be better to die with honor than to suffer the agony of betrayal.
Comment: cearlwriting@hotmail.com
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