LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
We the people put the wind in the sails, or at least we blow a lot of hot air at them.
ur ship of state is an old- fashioned square-rigged treasure galleon, but with a crew of 16 million. That’s the number of people employed by America’s federal, state, and
Ruth Bader Ginsburg comes to Amy Coney Barrett and Clarence Thomas in their dreams and convinces them to join People For the American Way – “Left full rudder!” But somebody still has to go around convincing the ship of state’s 16 million crew members – busy battening hatches, furling mainsails, weighing anchors, shivering timbers, and whatever else it is that sailors do on sailboats – to get with the program and make sure something happens with the steering gear. Trump hasn’t had much luck in the past four years. And Biden strikes me as being about as effective as The Skipper, captain of the S.S. Minnow on Gilligan’s Island . We do have a “deep state” in America, but mostly in the sense that grand political plans usually walk the plank and wind up in Davey Jones’ Locker. (Or beached on Gilligan’s Island – a “shallow state” can wreck plans too.) Meanwhile, America drifts where the ebb and flow of circumstance take it.
local governments. This makes for a vessel three times the size of Norway (population 5,375,000). We the people put the wind in the sails, or at least we blow a lot of hot air at them. But the ship itself remains as hard to launch, maneuver, turn around, or dock as Scandinavia... especially since there’s no one steering. Of course, in theory, there’s a captain – the president. But that’s just one of the helmsmen. There are also 435 congressmen, 100 senators, and nine Supreme Court justices with their hands on the wheel. Let’s assume that this gang of jack-tars trying to steer all agree on which direction the boat should go. (That has never happened but, for fun, let’s say it does.) Trump gets reelected, holds the Senate, and retakes the House – “Right full rudder!” Or Biden wins, keeps the House, takes the Senate, and the ghost of
CLICK HERE TO READ THE WEB VERSION
America is an enormous ship of state, too big and complicated for any single person to control it...
American Consequences
7
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog