Did America Commit Suicide Last Night?

The Hindenburg was an immense rigid frame airship the size of an aircraft carrier that plied the North Atlantic between Germany and the U.S. during 1936-37. Anyone seeing it could not help but be awed by its sheer size - it looked invincible. Alas, such was not the case. As it maneuvered to its mooring at Lakehurst, NJ on May 6, 1937, something set off the hydrogen contained within its air bags and in seconds the huge airship exploded and burned, crumpling to the ground in a molten heap.

The same thing can happen to nations and it did last night in the United States House of Representatives on a vote of 219-212. British historian Arnold Toynbee Toynbee warned that all great nations rise and all fall and the "autopsy of history is that all great nations commit suicide." And so it has. The America of the future will be fundamentally different from the America that we have known and my great fear is that America, "the next best hope of mankind," has just dropped its mantle on the dust heap of history and taken its place with the rest of the world on the dreary march to mediocrity.

The genius of the Founding Fathers was the concept of limited government which provided certain governmental basics (national defense, roads, etc.) and then let free men create wealth for themselves and their posterity. It worked. Blessed with abundant natural resources and a favored geographic position that, after the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, insulated it from the wars of Europe, the citizens of the United States worked hard and turned this nation into a powerhouse. After 1945, it was the first global superpower, and has remained there despite a nagging reluctance to shoulder this role.

Last night, we walked away from the uniquely American experiment of limited government and embraced big government, one that will cater to our "needs" and enhance our "rights." Clearly, this was a Democratic party run amok. They are now going to do their darndest to roll out bennies for everybody before the voters catch up with them. Bribery they know - witness all the deals cut to get this horrendous bill passed. Now we get to see the character of the American people - can they resist and take care of business? It won't be easy to repeal this legislation and the new course in American history, but it is possible, albeit only with an electorate that is willing to clean house come November. Until then, the jury is out.