National Greatness vs. Rule of Law
The contest for America’s soul
Discourse is dying. We all feel it. We can’t talk with “the other side,” whether they are family members, old friends, or strangers on Facebook. The “facts” presented by each side are first ridiculed as non-facts; i.e., the product of Internet brainwashing, conspiracy theorists, or biased media. The other person is viewed as deranged or not dealing with reality, while one views oneself as “in the know.” We are building impenetrable walls in the national psyche. Our collective and individual minds stand before these walls and ask, from both sides, what happened?
Two Moral Universes
The polarity we experience arises from the opposition between two moral universes. On one side are those who hold Rule of Law and individual sovereignty among the most prized principles of liberal democracy. Rule of Law is supreme because it is understood as a universal principle that is vital to liberty. As history has shown, the primary alternative to Rule of Law is one form or another of despotism. Those who hold Rule of Law as supreme in their moral universe know this history all too well, and they refuse to forget.
On the other side, the primary moral value is national greatness, expressed today in the slogan Make America Great Again. The need to make the country great arises from the sense that we have lost our way. Things are not as many people expect them to be. It’s hard to get ahead. We are losing our kids to a bewildering set of technological influences and social constructions. Too many men and women can’t find a place in life that is nice and comfortable. The changing look of towns and neighborhoods, especially as per immigrants, is unnerving. None of this is good, let alone great. And it just keeps going on, decade after decade, regardless of who is in power. We’re sick of it, and we need someone who understands and can make it change. “Whatever it takes” to put us back into a good place — i.e., whatever it takes to make America great again. That is the new moral imperative.
The rise of opposing moral universes in the culture is extremely dangerous. It is not the same as having two different sets of values as we go ahead and try to solve problems. Those differences have been an essential aspect of the two-party system in America since the founding of the republic. They are historically normal. We are now facing a historical abnormality — people seeing not just different solutions, but radically different problems, facts, and even realities. The concerns, problems, and challenges are different — we cannot even agree on what needs to be addressed. One side claims facts, the other alternative facts. One side claims science, the other denies it. One side sees the state as an ongoing strength dedicated to liberal principles, the other calls it the “deep state” and sees that as a conspiracy against action and greatness. Our society is living in two distinct worlds. As such, we can only talk past one another. We assert through louder voices because there is no longer an agreed standard for determining what is real — or at least, that standard we had is crumbling before our eyes. This is the duality within which we try to connect, and most often fail. Our political discourse is enmeshed in this dualistic fabric. Let’s look in more detail as to how this occurred.
Rule of Law
A moral universe constructed on the principle of Rule of Law requires two things: A clear declaration and application of the laws; and verifiable facts to know what is happening, what problems we face, or what happened in the past (e.g., evidence in a court of law). These facts create a consensus on what is happening and what the problems are, even if we must debate differing solutions. Although any society will be imperfect at applying this moral principle, the primacy of verifiable facts is required and held central to this universe. Law cannot rule based on falsehoods. Law cannot rule based on whim or caprice. Law must be deliberate, declared, and evenly enforced based on facts.
A society built on Rule of Law has its limitations. Democracy, for example, which is built on Rule of Law, can be messy, slow, and ineffective. It can be corrupted. In our system, corporate interests can sway it away from the interests of the people. It is far from perfect. I think it was Churchill who said, “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the alternatives.” Hence, in this moral universe, Rule of Law — where the law is built on democratic decision making — Is viewed as the best method of governance, one in which the people may rule themselves.
National Greatness
MAGA is the rallying cry for American Greatness and Trump is its main proponent. Such greatness, however, is a vague notion whose edge can only be found in the theme from his inaugural address: “America first.” This notion seeks to avoid the compromises necessary for global leadership, and instead impose a clarity that appeals to many — we come first, we are headed in one direction as a nation, and that is toward greatness.
This idea is extended even further to allow for “alternative facts”, whatever that may mean. It is a value that is not totally defined so that people can project into it whatever they want, including law. Bend the law, change the law, redefine the law, and always do it to serve “American greatness.” If you are serving national greatness with an act or a crime, the fact that it breaks the law is overlooked. “Greatness” supersedes law. That’s a different moral universe.
Even though “greatness” is not clearly defined, all other values are subservient to making American great. The definition of such greatness seems to be generally understood among the adherents of this view and includes the maintenance of a white majority, the selective application of law enforcement, and the circumvention of inconveniences that obstruct the development of American greatness, such as Rule of Law, standards of conduct, or institutional norms. The general sense of this was captured in Trump’s all-too-true statement: “I could shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”
The popular appeal lies in the fact that so many have felt screwed by the world we live in — the hollowing out of the middle class, the loss of manufacturing jobs, the cultural shifts that don’t make sense to people, the loss of God, church, and moral certitude, the loss of control to digitalization, and the incoming flood of people who look and act differently into communities. None of these things feel “great,” so the hope for correcting them all becomes the power and energy behind national greatness.
History Teaches
This contest between two moral universes is not new. In the west, it has been a precursor to all western dictatorships. Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Franco — all of them shared this internal conflict as the dictators came into being. The enemy was liberalism. They railed against the very notion of universal principles, which liberalism espouses. They built elaborate intellectual edifices and propagated them into the populations — Nazism built its race theories, communism built its theory of the proletariat, fascism built its theory of the great man in the great nation. All of them were built on alternative facts — ideas, theories, and facts that were fabricated to project a truth to their underlying moral universe. Even more importantly, each raised its particular alternative to liberal principles to a level that overrode liberal principles, especially Rule of Law — an override that is necessary to install a dictatorship.
The challenge to the moral universe doesn’t just happen in a top-down manner. Dictators rise on the backs of public discontent, usually driven by a bad economy and an ineffective government. Such discontent is palpable throughout the country these days. We cannot seem to solve problems. Congress is gridlocked. Presidents turn to executive orders. The courts are legislating from the bench. Special interests are perceived to control everything. A few individuals make obscene amounts of money and generate wealth, while millions can barely make do on two full-time jobs. This has moved us from “throw the bums out,” to “throw the system out” — a sentiment shared both by Trump supporters and Bernie Sander’s supporters.
As frustration builds in a population, a movement and an individual arise to capitalize on the situation. It originates on the right or the left of the spectrum. If the political infrastructure is able to address the grievances of the population, dictatorship can be avoided. But if it continues to fail, the popularity of a dictatorial leader will bring him or her to power.
Where We Are Today
The division of the world into two opposing moral universes is the root cause of the consternation Americans feel on all sides. It is not just that we have different goals, but that the core pillar of our belief systems is different, and what we are willing to sacrifice to maintain that belief system is extremely different. Those who elevate Rule of Law are willing to tolerate that messy indecisiveness of democracy, partly in the belief that taking political action can change outcomes. Those who elevate American greatness embrace all actions that support the vision, regardless of corruption, lawfulness, or attempts to undermine the other branches of government. Different senses of truth arise between these two groups, and that is why our political discourse has failed. Each sees the other group, not incorrectly, as undermining its own moral universe. That is the source of the one experience that seems increasingly universal — the experience of outrage.
The enormous folly of the society is this belief: The man professing to make the nation great will also live within the confines of core principles — Rule of Law, individual sovereignty, private property, and the like. This never happens. The very appeal of these dictatorial leaders is that they will overcome the limitations of such principles. While the most extreme of their supporters cheer the nonadherence to these principles, a huge proportion of the leaders’ support comes from people to whom the stated goals are appealing, even if the means are unacceptable. The fact that the population never could have imagined death camps, gulags, and outright political murder is no consolation — they actively brought that onto their countries by their support for the dictator’s moral universe, which is the one they know by the term “national greatness.”
Aspiring to Greatness
The aspiration to be a great nation of Americans is not unique. American political leaders have called us to greatness for a long time. Most American leaders speaking to our greatness presented such greatness as a result of our liberal principles — Rule of Law, freedom of speech, and sovereignty of the individual. Leaders position American greatness as residing within these principles and our democracy, from elections to institutions. What we have is to be revered. And above all others, the Rule of Law is the primary guidepost.
What’s unique today is the elevation of “greatness” to supersede Rule of Law instead of emanating from it. In the European dictatorships, acts of violence were not considered in terms of “Does it violate the law?” but rather as “Did this act enhance the greatness of the nation?” It was that question that justified the horrors and the terrors of those regimes. For a dictator, nothing is more important than overcoming the liberal moral universe and replacing it with the vision of greatness. It makes the dictator’s vision more central and important than Rule of Law. There is a historical formula for this.
First, articulate the vision. In doing so, make Rule of Law, liberals, and liberal pinciples the enemy, scapegoat, or cause of people’s problems. Then, use and stretch every legal means necessary to begin to implement the new vision. Change the judiciary to people who are loyal to the dictator and the vision. Turn government service into a loyalty test, and let loyalists exonerate others who were loyal yet imprisoned by the old system. As it becomes increasingly necessary, flaunt the laws, go around them, and push the popular movement to circumvent them — all in service of the vision. This process unfolds over time and results in the carte blanche exercise of power against political opponents and those who do not fit the vision of greatness. How do we know? Read the history of Franco, Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin.
In our lifetimes, Trump is the only one who articulated such a vision, captured the imagination of the disaffected and angry populace, and rose to take the American presidency. As a leader, this began the day he announced he would run (with his anti-Mexican diatribe), followed into his presidency with his anti-immigration orders, and it ended with the January 6th, 2021 — a defining event that failed in retaining power, this time. His continued propagation of the big lie is a further illustration of this new moral universe he is perpetuating. He seems to be saying, “Damn the facts, damn the institutions, damn the laws, and damn everyone who doesn’t vote for me. I’m making America great, and all those things are in the way.”
No one on the left is even close to that combination of rhetoric, self-aggrandizement, and political power that comes with the presidency. There are leaders, but none of them are even close to obtaining that office.
I Fear for Our Country
When we take the national mood and feel this awfulness in our discourse, we are feeling this very conflict. America is ensconced in a battle between these two moral universes. We are split down the middle of which universe we want. We are on a precipice. History teaches that you don’t need a majority to win this battle. Unfortunately, wins by the greatness team are always horrific.
I fear for our nation because we are locked in a verbal confrontation no one will win. Those giving voice to American greatness will stare at that bright light, but the light blinds them and they do not see the immense shadow it casts. They just want greatness.
Those giving voice to the rule of law side must confront a stark reality — their side is what got us to this place of ineffectiveness, gridlock, and looming disasters that cast fear across the land — climate change, COVID, concentration of wealth, and now a political disaster.
As the battle has changed from a contest between values into a contrast between moral universes, the underlying discontent grows on all sides. Extremists on the right and the left want to throw the system out. “Defund the police” captures this from the left, while “dismantle the deep state” carries the same idea from the right. Both are arguing the system must go. A recent poll showed that nearly 20% of Americans believe it may be necessary to take up arms to “save the country.” Ask these people “Save it from what?” and you will get either a blank stare or a long list of things they hate about the other side. But herein we can see that what people want to save the country from, in actuality, is dominance by the opposing moral universe.
My great fear is that a moral universe based on national greatness (or any alternative) will overcome Rule of Law and thereby destroy America. I fear it from the right and I fear it from the left — both are prone to it. Should they succeed, one need only look to the dictators of Europe in the 1920s to 1960s for a glimpse of what is to come. God Bless America, indeed, because if Rule of Law loses the challenge, God knows we are going to need those blessings.
Happy New Year 2022.
Gadwall Jackson
Writing the Unspeakable Truth
