Conceding

 It can be said in many different ways, expressed by scholars and by fools, but my thought is simply that we have taken off those rose-colored glasses and the starkness of reality is causing the great collapse we are seeing in society. Many call them conspiracy theories, others call them plots, and still others are calling then coverups. But the bottom line is our most revered institutions are being dragged through the mud and confidence is lost. The Supreme court is one example of that. Perceived misdeeds, ethical violations and controversial opinions. The legitimacy of the court called into question. It all speaks to trust. Set aside everything else, it comes down to trust. Trust in the system to function as it was intended. Those founding fathers were very concerned about all of that, that's the basis for all the checks and balances written into the constitution. A balance of power. 

 The whole deal hinges upon a simple concept. John Adams expressed that with his explanation that the constitution only made for a moral and religious people. In other words, those that have belief. Belief is trust in its' purest form. You could say love is also. Today, we the people have lost trust in our government. It is under constant attack from all sides. The attack is an internal one between the various branches of government. It is far more complex than simple political ideologies, it is the struggle for power. The true basis is in morality. Morality defines right from wrong. It is yes and no, black and white, up and down. Those that control that morality control the world! That is how you get a population to revolt. All the great minds of the past have said so, written tomes about that very thing. It was the basis of everything Sal Alinsky championed. Yes, Alinsky is known for his "rules for radicals" and those are often quoted. One of those rules is, "a good tactic is one your people enjoy." It doesn't matter if what your people enjoy is moral or not, the importance lies in their enjoyment. Just keep'em happy and you can control them. Alinsky was of course talking about controlling a revolution. Getting others to act on your behalf. And that is what our politicians have evolved into. 

 When Adams said our constitution was only sufficient to a moral and religious people, he was talking about our elected officials. They are the vanguards. We the people select those people. They in turn attempt to "keep us happy." They call that being reelected and they have been very successful at that. A member of congress will win reelection at least 90% of the time! Once they get into office they rarely lose. It has to be remembered that at the time of the founding of this nation Congress was not a full-time paid occupation. The idea was to elect a fellow citizen to represent you. You would just naturally elect a moral and religious person. That was the rose-colored glasses of the past. It was a matter of trust. But today the glasses are off. That doesn't mean the constitution should be rewritten, it means we should be seeing those politicians for what they truly are. Far too many are nothing more than charlatans! Full of promises and short on delivery. They have set aside any moral and religious belief they may hold in favor of power. Then they falsely call that justice. 

 The great American experiment it has been called. The first nation in the world to invest the power of government into the people of that government. Self-governance. It requires self-sacrifice, self-control, and self-imposition of moral and ethical actions. Simply put, it is doing the right thing even when no one is looking. Living life without concession for the common good. That's the big experiment, isn't it? In the biblical story of Adam and Eve there was one rule not to be broken. Man broke that rule. Will the same happen with the great American experiment? If history is any judge, it will. No government can restrain immorality, only the individual can do that. Nor can government impose religion upon anyone, that is also a personal decision. Deciding that something is wrong, but only sometimes, is the greatest concession of all.