In the American experiment, politics was once envisioned as the mechanism by which liberty could be harmonized with the common good. Today, however, it often feels more like a theater of grievance than a forum for governance. So I ask: Is politics itself becoming a social problem in the United States?
This isn’t merely a question of partisanship or policy. It’s a deeper inquiry into the philosophical underpinnings of our civic life. Consider:
Hobbes vs. Locke: The Social Contract Revisited
** Hobbes saw the state as a necessary Leviathan to prevent chaos—a sovereign power to impose order.
** Locke, by contrast, imagined a contract rooted in consent, where government exists to protect natural rights.
** In today’s climate, executive orders often replace legislative consensus. Is this Hobbesian necessity or a Lockean betrayal?
Trump’s use of executive authority—mirrored now across administrations—may be less about personal ambition and more about a system straining under its own weight. When gridlock becomes the norm, decree begins to look like discipline. But is it?
Discipline vs. Punishment: Governing or Controlling?
** Discipline implies formation, a shaping of civic virtue.
** Punishment suggests retribution, often reactive and divisive.
** Are our political mechanisms forming a more just society—or simply reacting to its fractures?
Divine Intervention vs. Evolutionary Drift
** Some still see America as divinely guided, a “city on a hill.”
** Others view our trajectory as shaped by cultural evolution, economic pressures, and historical inertia.
** Is our political dysfunction a sign of moral failing—or the natural consequence of institutional aging?
Existentialism in Governance: The State vs. the Citizen
** The state seeks continuity, stability, and control.
** The citizen, especially in existential terms, seeks meaning, autonomy, and authenticity.
** When the machinery of government becomes opaque or unresponsive, does the citizen retreat—or rebel?
Liberty Tempered by Surrender
Liberty without restraint becomes chaos; surrender without liberty becomes tyranny. The challenge is not choosing one over the other, but discerning when each is appropriate. Can we still trust our political system to make that discernment?
A Global Glance
** In France, mass protests reflect a tension between centralized authority and individual will.
** In India, populism and nationalism reshape democratic norms.
** In Hungary and Turkey, executive power expands while dissent contracts.
** Is the U.S. following a global trend—or forging a uniquely American crisis?
So I ask again: Is politics a social problem today in the U.S.? Or is it the mirror we refuse to look into—reflecting not just dysfunction, but our own contradictions?
********************
Would love to hear your thoughts, especially from those who see politics not as a battleground, but as a crucible for meaning.
Thoughts, accolades, criticisms, and/or commentary?
********************
As an aside two significant and monumental changes in history was with Jesus the Christ (King) and with the founding of our nation the United States of America. Did you know the average age of the apostles was before the age of 30. Our founding fathers average age was under 40. James Madison was 25, Alexander Hamilton 21, and Thomas Jefferson 33.
Does that hint at anything when considering not only Biden and Trump's age, but our representatives. I don't know . . . just pondering a little.
