In tumultuous times, let’s preserve common good - letter by Richard Damon - analysis

Reproduced here for fair use and discussion purposes. My comments in bold.

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I believe the nation is losing its moral compass. (Conservatives and religious people have been making this assertion for decades, and have been routinely derided for suggesting such a thing. They are roundly mocked for wanting to go back to the 50s. They want to return to an Ozzie and Harriet time that never really existed. So now we have a Leftist who dares suggest that something is morally wrong with the US. Let's see what he thinks is wrong.)  

I believe in democracy, (a system of government we do not have in this country.) 

in its remarkable achievements (Notice how he frames this. He credits a system of government for "remarkable achievements," not hardworking people, not the founders for their wisdom and sacrifices, and certainly not innovators and businesspeople who take incredible risks because they believed in themselves and the opportunities freedom provides. 

No, Dr. Damon credits a system of government.)  

and its unfulfilled promises, but what passes for democracy often turns out to be something less noble. (Actually, the result of majority rule has itself brought about untold suffering and evils of every kind. In the microcosm of democracy that is is the Supreme Court, they deemed back people to be property in Dred Scott. Hitler was democratically vote in with impressive majorities. The invasion of Iraq proceeded on the majority vote of congress [a majority, lest we forget, that was comprised of a good number of democrats.] 

There is nothing noble about democracy, either in its processes or its results. The founders abhorred it, so we can safely say they did not bequeath us democracy. Here's a quick survey of the founders' thoughts:

James Madison: "Democracy is the most vile form of government... democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention: have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property: and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths." Federalist #10

James Madison again (Federalist #39): "The first question that offers itself is, whether the general form and aspect of the government be strictly republican. It is evident that no other form would be reconcilable with the genius of the people of America; with the fundamental principles of the Revolution; or with that honorable determination which animates every votary of freedom, to rest all out political experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government."

From the notes of Dr. James McHenry, one of Maryland's delegates to the convention, "A lady asked Dr. (Benjamin) Franklin: "Well, Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy?" "A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it."

John Adams: Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhaust, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide." 

Alexander Hamilton: "We are now forming a Republican form of government. Real Liberty is not found in the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments. If we incline too much to democracy, we shall soon shoot into a monarchy, or some other form of dictatorship." 

Alexander Hamilton: "It had been observed that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most perfect government. Experience had proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity." 

James Madison: "If we advert to the nature of republican government, we shall find that the censorial power is in the people over the government, and not in the government over the people." 

Alexander Tyler: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury.")

I see people deprived of their freedom from racism and economic exploitation, and simply not caring. We impose “freedom” on people who do not want us to occupy their country, under guise of protecting our own economic interests, in exchange for their lives. 

I believe in American political institutions, but those institutions often set policy in response to corporate power instead of the will of the people.  When the will of the people is reactively made known on the streets or at the ballot box, political leaders have clever ways to renege on promises, or work behind closed doors to protect their own and special interest influences. (This is a direct result of the government the Left prefers. This government is extremely powerful, controlling trillions of dollars. It has far exceeded the constitutional limits imposed upon it by the founders. Governmental power, by its very nature, is corruptible, and that's why the founders limited it. The government we have now is corrupted commensurate with its power. That corruptible power is understandably attractive to those who would want to steer it, like corporations, other governments, and even those in government itself. Dr. Damon does not seem to realize that his philosophy of government is the cause of the problems he decries.)

I believe in the power of the human moral fabric of goodness, but that power often runs amuck (sic) with terrorism, killings, and a nation that does not care for its poor or mentally ill. ( I wonder if Dr. Damon re-read this sentence before he submitted his letter. The power of good runs amok resulting in terrorism and killings? What? How is that possible?) 

The media hate mongers twist the truth, defame, and lie outright, weakening the trust on which democracy depends. (A little shot at conservative radio and Fox News, I'm sure. Isn't it curious, though, how the mere mention of "lies" and "hate" is deemed sufficient, as if its a self-evident truth that they're destroying democracy?

Oh, how the Left hates conservative media! It's destroying the country. Yes, free speech is bad for democracy. Democracy depends on trust, and Limbaugh is weakening it. Yes, comrade, we need to trust our Dear Leader as he leads us into a glorious future!)

More and more I believe the nation is incapable of rational thinking about gun control, equal rights for every American, our tolerance of violence, the disparities seen in society, climate change, the decline of
educational achievement, and unhealthy human behaviors. (In other words, if you happen to have another perspective regarding these issues and the supposed solutions as promulgated by the Left, you are irrational. There is no simple difference of opinion, no basic diversity of thought on these issues. There is, frankly, no other way to look at these issues. If you don't toe the line, if you don't say "yes, sir," if you step even slightly out of the "truth," you will be dealt with most severely. Because not only are you irrational, you are a bigot, a hater, you are anti-science and out of step with the thinking people.) 

We harbor fear, resentment, anger, and lassitude, making us susceptible to media persuasion, (See? You are easily led astray, you are deceived. You shut your brain off and are easily manipulated.) 

and the untruth peddled by tyrants of democratic destruction.

Political institutions, dysfunctional as they are, exceed our founder’s expectations. (Um, yeah. The founders are all dead. That happened years ago, Dr. Damon. They have therefore made no comment, pro or con, regarding our political institutions.) 

The flawed legacy left to us (Yes, flawed. The only comment Mr. Damon has about the founders is not regarding their brilliance, their sacrifices, their incredible vision, or their understanding of liberty... no, they are simply flawed.) 

has a saving diversity, with which we are now blessed, to continue the distant vision and hopeful reality of preserving the common good, the very heart of democracy. (This is the central issue. "The common good" as envisioned by the Left was not a founding concept, because the founders did not give us a democracy. Indeed, the founders were highly cognizant of the abuses of government power, and sought to codify the basic truth that individual liberty, self-determination, and freedom from oppressive government.

There is no such thing as the common good.)

Richard A. Damon, MD