«L’état, c’est moi»

Lakeside.com Editorial

  Louis XIV, France's absolutist monarch, 1638-1715

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely…”

–Lord Acton, 1887

And it does not seem to matter what size the government.

Whether it be an elected dog catcher, Water and Sewer Conservation District board member, city elected official or even travel up the ladder to state rep., governor or president, it makes little difference.

The lure of this drug called power has the capability to turn the normal human being into one with an altered reality and strangely against those that he was once for and maybe even a part of.

In this altered mindset, the rules that apply to all others, no longer seem to apply to this type of leader. For purposes of this article, we’ll refer to him as the “addict.”

One of the signs of this change is that the “we” that once referred to “we, the people,” suddenly turns into  a “we…” the government. And it’s invariably followed by: “We need more ‘resources’ to run the government adequately.” Any excuse to do more “good things” to expand that government and acquire more power is fair ball.

Even signed promises mean little

Even signed contracts by the “candidate” to behave in restrained ways that benefit all, become something in which the elected-turned-addict then says, to paraphrase the thought pattern: No one really thought I’d actually do that. That’s just what we say and do to get elected. Now that I know better, it’s not practical anyway.

And when, be it an involved citizen, an uncorrupted leader (there are a few), or even the questioning press (there are fewer), attempt to hold the addicted leader to account, those from the “we, the people”  side are accused of all sorts of nefarious things for pointing out contradictions and ill intended proposals of the addict.

What was once fair and open political debate is termed “destruction” and “tearing apart the community.” It is understandable that in this state of mind the addict would look at the questioning of his judgment as a personal assault.

The bible speaks of this upside down nature of the existence we live in. Yet, almost no one focuses on this aspect when looking at political life. Maybe, it’s time we should…and not go on to quickly forget it.

It sure fits in explaining the otherwise unexplainable.

But to those who get into office and acquire this mind drug, even ones who go to church and profess to be Christians, for the most part, the addicts invariably never knew what hit them.

It was weakness of character, pride, the feeling of importance and self-worth when Joe Sixpack looks at him in a new, more important way that may be the clincher. It gives new meaning to those who run for power out of an inferiority complex, who are desperate for attention and respect.

Power is an addiction of the soul that in many ways is more deadly than the deadliest addictions recognized, such as crack cocaine or video lottery terminals. And it’s most problematic because this world provides no interventions or rehabilitation centers like the publicly admitted-to addictions afford.

Political power is the addiction that is not spoken about in polite company. There, you risk offending the very people who are in a position to help establish the “Power Addiction Center.”

A few points for citizens

As the Lakeside version of this play unravels, we would like to bring a few points to our readers:

• ♦ In many ways, we, the people expect too much of our elected officials. We need to do all that we can do for ourselves and stop looking to government for the social needs of society. It is our own lack of self-government and looking to others that helps put the beast into these individuals;
• ♦ The leader you thought you knew before attaining this power is not necessarily the same person that they have become. You need to review elected officials on a regular basis for subtle changes;
• ♦ In general, our expectations for elected leaders also need to rise. And the best place to start is to make sure the ones  elected locally remain accountable to you.  That necessitates your involvement and your willingness to risk unpopularity by speaking your honest heart.

To the elected leader

And, finally, to the elected leader: You chose to lead.

In that position, you constantly need to do a self-analysis, remain humble, and, if a Christian, ask the Lord for wisdom and guidance. Your very souls may depend on not being seduced (or wresting from the clutches of) this altered kingdom with which you’ve joined forces.

A large measure of your success will come in not attempting to do everything yourself. Rather, it comes in the degree you are able to get others involved in helping the community, untangling complications of government, and not attempting to be the narcissistic god of the people…also, resisting the attempt to have a closed clique to privately share information among the elite.

The real leader is an elected servant. A servant is lesser than the master being served.

Lakeside has the potential to go against the worldly trend and have a government that remains in the hands of the best interest of all its people. But, it’s going to take the help of some great wisdom from citizens to see the truth through a given controversy.

Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, said that you can count on most of the people most of the time…that is, when those people are informed as to what is and has actually been happening. We believe that too.

So, while we as the messenger of information use this new technology and even actual video footage of meetings, it is our striving to ensure that no elected official of the people is above the law…and you can see for yourself the raw reality of your government so you will have better basis for decision-making.

And the ones that scream the loudest against the right to get you that vital information are the ones you may want to question most closely. You’re sure to find one or more addicts in that crowd.

The headline, “L’état, c’est moi,”  was the famous saying of 17th and 18th Century king Louis XIV of France, meaning: “I am the state.” He believed in the divine right of the king who could do no wrong and had absolute power, supposedly granted by God.

If key points of history such as this era were taught to citizens through their public schools, imagine the difference. We might not be so subject to the George Santayana quotation: “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.”

In our modern case, it should be: “Those who never were taught the past, are doomed to live it.”

Are we prepared to accept politicians in this little city that will break all major promises for that power, attempt censorship through fury at the slightest hint of questioning their judgment, use the city to consolidate more self-power and even pay to inquire about investigating the opposition?

If so, we might as well throw away our American experiment and be true to this divine right philosophy.

In the process, however, we should make it official and get the proper garb for its leader. There’s a Burger King down the highway…

If we believe America needs to get back to its roots, however, isn’t it proper that principles rule over personality. That is something that needs to start at home, where it is within our grasp to do something about it.