H.L. Mencken, patron saint of cynics like me, once wrote, “democracy is the theory that holds that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”
Recalling the five-plus years it has been since George W. Bush put on the imperial purple, I am struck by the aptness of this quote. Not only because Bush was actually re-elected, but because there are individuals who actually believe that some good can come from those who hold office in Washington D.C.
That is not to say, of course, that there aren’t some good individuals in the nation’s capital. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is one example of a man who votes his principles. He has been a consistent foe of government expansion and of our foreign adventures and firmly in favor of a sound economy.
Likewise, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has written himself a profile of courage as the only member of the Senate to vote against the original USA PATRIOT Act, one of those Orwellian pieces of legislation stampeded through during chaotic times as well as its slightly less-menacing successor.
There aren’t too many more besides those two gentlemen. Why is this? Is it that good folks don’t want to get involved in politics – that they flee to the “cleaner” fields of business, the church and academia? Sure.
Politics, much like anything involving power, corrupts all but a few. No matter the best intentions one has, the lure of power, advancement and control will drive men to sell out all they previously held dear.
Take as an object lesson the Republican Party that came into power – partly in 1995 and completely, save for a few months, in 2001.
Having spent close to 40 years in the wilderness of opposition, the Republicans came to Congress with their “Revolution.” They came with a mix of conservative and libertarian ideals – deregulation, abolishing government agencies, keeping the U.S. from foreign wars. They were crusaders, they were true believers.
Now, the folks who campaigned under the twin banners of “compassionate conservatism” and restoring honesty to the government preside over a secretive, law-shredding administration that has failed in nearly every single endeavor it has attempted.
The most glaring failures of this administration are apparent to all but the most blind partisans; and as Bush’s approval ratings have, according to the New York Times and CBS, reach 34 percent, the number of deluded is shrinking.
Looking at Iraq, a nation that looks sure to turn into a total morass of blood and carnage, New Orleans and the various scandals related to the vice president’s office, it’s hard to see a bright spot in this administration.
But perhaps there is one.
Maybe people will learn that just because people say they’re honest, outsiders committed to changing things, it won’t make any difference in the long run.
If they are honest, they will be either booted out of the government or stand as examples of “good guys” teachers give their students in civics class. That, or they will join the rest of the venal majority, out for their own share of the public trough.
What can you do? I sit back and enjoy myself. Think of oneself like a Roman during the Empire, watching the farce in the Senate play out; watch fools prattle about liberty while signing away the rights of their children and grandchildren for the hint of security. It’s probably the only way anyone can watch C-SPAN without using recreational drugs.
No, only in local politics can we make a difference. There, at least, while the people may or may not be better, at the very least we live together, and there is still some vestigial sense of neighborliness left.
In all events, try like Diogenes to find an honest man in Washington. Your lantern will likely burn out faster and your feet bleed before you do. Abandon all hope ye who enter here.
 
Ryan is a history senior. Contact him
at [email protected]