Politics as Unusual

After putting the title on this piece, I wondered if it was true, was it truly an "unusual" election night?  It was certainly historic, but, I think in many ways it was a very predictable election.

In spite of the efforts by many to remake the U.S. into the Euro-model, we remain uniquely our own.  We don't carry the baggage of the Medieval kingdoms in our makeup, nor do we carry the ethnic hatreds of Europe.  Yes, there is certainly ethnic tension, but, it is uniquely our own -- the product of a slave system that was divided along racial lines rather than that of the conquered and the conquering except possibly along our Southwestern border where the racial tensions may be traced back to the war with Mexico (Texas Independence).

We are a nation of fiercely independent people who sought to re-make the world in a better image.  An image in which a man could overcome obstacles by the efforts of his own hands in order to reach a level of success rather than to be born into a caste where his options were limited merely by the circumstances of his birth.  If royalty is in our blood, it is tempered by the blood of countless victims of the political whims of the "Great Houses" of Europe.  It is a uniquely American makeup that will resist subjugation at every turn -- whether it be at the hands of a conquering invader or at the hands of those who would elevate themselves to a ruling class.

There are exceptions, however.  In many of our larger cities and along our Southwestern border, are people who feel as if they are a subjected class.  They are people who feel an inferiority due to their racial background and due to their economic situation.  They are the ones who look to a "benevolent ruler" to have mercy on them through a welfare state.  They, along with the centers of power (i.e. the Northeast and the West Coast), cause the political map of the U.S. to exhibit significant splashes of blue on a map that is otherwise red.

The winners in yesterday's election must realize that the results are the product of resistance to overreaching government, not an endorsement of a political party.  They are a clear message that we do not wish to be ruled by the elite, we wish only to be left alone to rule ourselves.

The secondary message is one that has been ignored for a large part of the history of this nation.  That is the message that the poor and economically subjected areas of our country -- i.e. the inner cities and the poor laboring classes -- must be elevated to the status of full participants in the greatness of this country.  They can no longer be treated as problems or as cheap labor (virtual slavery), but must instead be brought into full economic and social participation.  When that occurs, they will no longer be subjected to the machinations of those who would become a ruling elite.

How can those groups be lifted from their misery?  Get them employed in meaningful work that is economically rewarded at a level sufficient to lift them from their poverty and feeling of helplessness.  The best stimulus would be to provide tax breaks to companies who would create jobs in our inner cities that would erase the need for dependence on a welfare state.  Many will need to be educated in order to perform those jobs.  We should provide additional incentives for private educational initiatives by those same companies in order to improve the basic skills of those workers and their families.  We must quit relying on a "nanny-state" to provide such things, but instead provide incentives to the private sector to step up to the challenge.  It is in all of our best interests.  Prosperity comes when individuals are rewarded for their efforts.