Men have been seeking the Holy Grail for two thousand years.  The Republicans sought the American political equivalent—control of the White House and both chambers of Congress—that had eluded them since the first year of the Eisenhower Administration, for almost five decades before they finally solidified it in 2002.
 

Now, in just four short, but alienating years, they have lost it.  Probably for a long time.  And with good reason.  After years and years of arguing for limited government, individual rights, free enterprise, and a strong national defense, they swept into decisive control of Congress in 1994 in a record-setting repudiation of a new President.

 
Then they promptly turned their collective backs to the voters who finally had believed their message.

(more…)

Now that another one of those vitriolic, antagonistic, exercises in mutual character assassination that we call an election is past us, it is the perfect opportunity to examine our perceived political polarization.

Elections reveal that we characterize most people or groups today by their view towards government either and by the type or the amount of power they feel government should wield.  It’s impossible to pick up a newspaper or watch the evening news on television without seeing or hearing all kinds of references to “liberals” and “conservatives,” or to a “right wing” and a “left wing.”  From such labels we’re supposed to get the impression that the terms are used to describe opposite sides of an issue or opposite ends of some spectrum of political philosophy, with “moderates” and “centrists” in the middle. 

From another perspective, however, such a spectrum not only doesn’t really provide a very useful description of these groups it actually ignores or obscures what’s really going on.  Forget Democrats versus Republicans, left versus right, liberals versus conservatives, fascists versus communists, or revolutionaries versus reactionaries.  To bring things into the proper focus, we need to rearrange the political spectrum into a more realistic representation: 
(more…)

10. The Constitution is the law of the land.
9.   Politicians are public “servants” looking out for the best interests of the voters.
8.   We don’t have to worry about our national debt because we just owe it to ourselves.
7.   The Great Depression was caused by greedy capitalists.
6.   Democracy protects the rights of everyone.
5.   Environmentalists just want to protect the environment.
4.   The government can create jobs.
3.   In order for the poor to have more we have to take it from the rich.
2.   Democrat politicians and Republican politicians have different goals.

 
 And the NUMBER ONE Myth Ordinary Joe believes about America

 
 1.   “We’re from the government and we’re here to help!”

10. How many people vote based the last sign they saw before they entered the voting booth?
9.   If only ½ of the population is eligible to vote, and only ½ of the eligible voters register to vote, and only ½ of the registered voters actually vote, what are the rest of you doing?
8.   Is the fate of our nation is being determined by people who can’t figure out how to mark their ballots correctly?
7.   Why don’t you have to pass a written test to prove you’re qualified to vote and determine the fate of 300 million people?
6.   What do those people who together give over a BILLION dollars to win a job for someone else expect in return for themselves? 
5.   You can’t vote unless you’re a citizen.  You can’t be a citizen unless you can pass an English test.  So why do we print ballots in 18 languages?
4.   If all the voters in the 8 largest states all voted for the same presidential candidate, it wouldn’t matter how the entire rest of the country voted.  Do we really want to get rid of the electoral college?
3.   Considering the growth of government for the last 80 years, do you really think you will be better (or worse) off just because your favorite party just won (or lost) the last election?
2.   With sample sizes averaging only 1000, is the nation’s course is being set by opinion polls using as little as 3/10,000ths of one percent of the population?

 And the NUMBER ONE question Ordinary Joe needs to think about our Democracy:

1.   A medical survey once concluded that 48%–almost half—of the population had some symptoms of mental illness.  If “illness” is defined as a departure from normal, and if “normal” is defined as what half the population holds in common, then how do we know which half is really mentally ill?

10. “We don’t live in a democracy.  We live in an auction!” – Bumper sticker
9.   “Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage” – H.L. Mencken
8.   “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt” – Herbert Hoover
7.   “Politicians are the same all over.  They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river” – Nikita Khrushchev
6.   “Money is the mother’s milk of politics” – Jesse Unruh, California State Treasurer
5.   “The tax code is nothing more than a means of raising campaign funds” – Nobel economist Milton Friedman
4.  “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws” – Tacitus, 100 AD
3.  “I’m proud to be paying taxes in the United States.  The only thing is – I could be just as proud for half the money” – Arthur Godfrey
2.  “Public office is the last refuge of a scoundrel” – Senator Boies Penrose (1899)

 
And the NUMBER ONE Quote Ordinary Joe should know about politics:

 
1.   “Yes, everyone is free to speak their minds.  We will simply arrest anyone who listens!” – El Capitan Esteban, Zorro, the Gay Blade

The talk shows are full of it.  Television lives on it.  Newspapers feature it.  Bumper stickers proclaim it.  Neighbors argue about it.  And candidates spew it—incessantly and voluminously.  Look out!  It’s alive!  Run for it! 

The nasty is here.

The lazy days of summer gave way not to leaf-watching and fall football, but instead to another of those gawdawful, interminable, mud-slinging, truth-trampling, intelligence-insulting marathons we call campaign season.  Whereas autumns are fondly remembered for their brilliant displays of foliage colors, crisp nights, and cool rains, campaign seasons are anticipated with loathing, endured with cynicism, and notable only for the increasing intensity of nastiness embraced by dueling campaigns.

No sane person can stand it.  Liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats, seasoned citizens and Generation Xers alike, we’re all disgusted.  Most of us still haven’t recovered from 2004—MoveOn.org vs. SwiftBoat Vets; Bush-haters and Kerry-bashers—and they’re already lining up to duke it out in ‘08.  Last time we even went into extra innings in an unprecedented and unparalleled transformation of our democracy into some kind of perverse street brawl.  Is anybody not cringing?

What has happened to our genteel society, our respectful disagreements, and our traditional encouragement of diverse opinions? 

(more…)

Welcome to the Myth America blog.  A book on current issues is out of date almost as soon as it appears in print, although The Myth America Pageant deals primarily with fundamental truths and realities that are unchanging.  This site will allow us to modify or expand upon the topics in the book and address other topics as they arise. 

There are but three possible political states:  Liberty, tyranny, and chaos.  Chaos is the absence of law and order.  The collapse or elimination of power in the absence of an understanding of liberty produces chaos.  This happened with the Roman Empire, the Soviet Union, and with modern Iraq.  The exercise of power eliminates chaos, but leaves a struggle between liberty and tyranny.  The Myth America Pageant examines the conflict between liberty and tyranny in a democracy. 

While every issue is of vital importance, let’s not be afraid to have a little fun along the way.