I'm reading a biography of Alexander Hamilton right now that has really opened my eyes. It's so easy for us to sit here today with over 200 years of history behind us and think "well of course things worked out for our country." This book takes place during a time when many people were giving the United States about as much chance of success as many people are giving the Iraqi democracy today.
The idea of a strong federal government was not only new, but openly resisted. People were actually afraid of George Washington wanting to be come a king. And many people not only thought of France as our great Brother in Democracy, but felt that the French Revolution was a very, very good thing--even with its "excusable excesses."
The amount of political infighting among Washington's cabinet makes the rumored Colin Powell vs. Donald Rumsfeld discord sound like a meeting of like minds. Hamilton and Jefferson were absolutely determined to destroy one another, as each felt the other was a serious threat to the country.
And the newspapers! You think we have a problem with media bias and integrity today?! Back then they could--and would--publish anything they wanted, even outright libel, and do so anonymously. Newspapers didn't even attempt to feign impartiality--they were blatant party mechanisms. The political atmosphere these days almost seems cordial by comparison.
I admit to having had such a limited and idealized view of our Founding Fathers and the early days of America, that this book almost reads like one of those "alternative timeline" novels that are becoming increasingly popular. Alexander Hamilton, while hardly an angel, is a fascinating--and evidently unfairly maligned--person.
Drama, intrigue, scandal, rampant capitalism...this book has it all!
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2 comments:
Dude,
America never was a democracy, it's a representative republic. Democracy means everybody votes on everything. They tried something like that (everybody except women and slaves voting) in Greece, and it didn't work. The moment the city elders figured out that public speaking was an art form and the people figured out they could vote themselves a party, things started getting ugly. Kinda like they're starting to today, go fig... It ain't religion that corrupts a government, it's power. Of course, that's the main reason religions go corrupt too...
There is a town in Switzerland that still has a democracy. They were featured in the Wall Street Journal last week. They get together once each year (last Sunday in April) and vote. Interesting process. It works for them, but there are only 300 people in the town. I think that is why it works - has to be small enough that everyone can actually feasibly get their chance. If we had a true democracy here, we would be stalemated completely.
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