Robert J. Samuelson’s economic expertise offers little value
in evaluating the stability of our democracy. First, it is technically a
Republic. Our U.S. Constitution was engineered
from political principles that were didn’t always match fundamental principles (“Impeachment
remains an uneasy choice” Washington Post 5-29-17) like those the Founding
Fathers identified in the Declaration of Independence. All engineering feats (be they bridges,
buildings or bureaucracies) must adhere to fundamental principles in their
construction to avoid catastrophic failure.
All systems and structures (natural or man-made) depend on
the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” to survive the inevitable stresses of the
real world pressures that will inevitably stress them. And when systems or structures fail it can
lead to catastrophic consequences across other systems and structures.
When Haitians followed an economic principle of not using
rebar in building construction to save money, more Haitians died in 15 minutes
from the earth quake than both Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The catastrophic consequences of that fatal
error reverberates today in multiple systems and structures in Haiti’s economic,
political, health, education and foreign policy arenas.
Our linear human minds which are mostly dominated by western
and religious thinking usually fail to grasp that all systems and structures are
inherently dependent on dozens of other systems and structures (both natural and
man-made).
Our nation’s founding fathers stated in the Declaration of
Independence the most fundamental principle in sustaining peaceful human
relationships . Then they failed to
incporate them into the construction of the our Constitution. It failed to follow the “ Laws of Natures and
Nature’s God’s” “self-evident truths” ‘that all people are created equal and
endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights…’ This flaw eventually cost more US lives than
all other US wars combined. That flaw was mostly corrected in application
to national affairs. But, it remains a
catastrophic flaw today in impacting billions of human beings beyond our indefensible
borders.
George Mason (ally of James Madison and George Washington)
who drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights recognized this fatal flaw early
on and was one of three who refused to sign the U.S. Constitution. His wisdom is reflected in his words: "Now all acts of legislature apparently
contrary to natural right and justice, are, in our laws, and must be in the
nature of things, considered as void. The laws of nature are the laws of God: A
legislature must not obstruct our obedience to him from whose punishments they
cannot protect us. All human constitutions which contradict His laws, we are in
conscience bound to disobey. Such have been the adjudications of our courts of
justice."
The list of recent reports below documents both the threats
we face now and in the future (some preventable and others inevitable). Some reports offer means of threat prevention
by recommending transformation of both national and international systems and
structures based on fundamental principles such as ‘justice for all’. These will be essential in forming a more
perfect union capable of preventing some threats, and responding to, and
recovering from others that cannot be prevented.
1.
How Western Civilization could collapse: (April 18,
2017) Some possible precipitating
factors are already in place. How the West reacts to them will determine the
world’s future, says Rachel Nuwer. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170418-how-western-civilisation-could-collapse
2. Global Catastrophic Risks 2017: (May 2017) Global
Challenges Foundation’s Annual Report https://globalchallenges.org/en/our-work/annual-report (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GA8VmYLhEs)
3. Peril and Promise: Emerging Technologies and WMD (May
2017) By Natasha Bajema and
Diane DiEuliis |
Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction. http://wmdcenter.ndu.edu/Media/News/Article/1181150/peril-and-promise-emerging-technologies-and-wmd/
4. 2017
Global Risk Report: (January 2017) https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2017 The Global
Risks Report 2017 features perspectives from nearly 750 experts on the
perceived impact and likelihood of 30 prevalent global risks as well as 13
underlying trends that could amplify them or alter the interconnections between
them over a 10-year timeframe.
5. Pulling Together: The Multilateral System
and Its Future: (September 2016) By
the Independent Commission on
Multilateralism (ICM): This report is put out by the successor to the
International Peace Academy, renamed International
Peace Institute. https://www.ipinst.org/2016/09/icm-final-report
6. Commission on Global Security, Justice
& Governance: (June 2015) Co-Chairs, former U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright and former Nigerian Foreign Minister and UN Under-Secretary-General
for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari.
Report: http://www.stimson.org/programs/global-security-justice-and-governance Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKmucDk_6Lo&feature=youtu.be
7. One Young World Summit:
Ron Garan keynote talk. (Oct 2012) Pittsburg
PA/Johannesburg South Africa http://www.rongaran.com/speaking/
President Trump’s (or any President’s) commitment to put
America first instead of human rights first in US foreign policy literately locks
Americans into a perpetual war - the war against terrorism. Terrorism is a tactic that can never be eliminated
and its evolution is easily predictable.
No one should doubt that it will eventually cost millions of American
lives, our most basic freedoms, and our cherished prosperity as violent
extremists gain access to, and increasing willingness to use, the growing
variety of WMD’s detailed in the 3rd report above.
Either we transform our U.S. Constitution and all of our
nation’s systems and structures to protect the inalienable rights of all the
world’s people (and our specie’s life support system) or we will face the devastating
consequences of continued global injustices.
Time is running out.
The acceleration of technology advancements and global events far
outpaces our national and global system’s capacity to deal with them. Our linear
thinking must make a revolutionary leap, the same that our Founding Fathers
took when they began walking down the path to a ‘more perfect union’. Short of this transformation, the next best
thing we can do is bring all of our existing systems and structures to bear on
quickly, holistically, and comprehensively achieve the 17 Sustainable
Development goals before the year 2030.
We must train our minds to:
1.
Connect the dots (systems and structures).
2.
See the web (of our global
interdependence).
3.
Work for justice (“Liberty and Justice for all”
is a fundamental principle).
4.
Prepare for the catastrophic consequences (of
systems and structural) if we fail.
Political principles (‘Peace through Strength’ or ‘America
First’) must never override the fundamental principles of the” Laws of Nature
and Natures God” that all people are created equal and deserving of certain
rights that no government should take away.
Faith in science, engineering, and our common origins is our
only means of maximizing freedom, security and future prosperity for all.
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