A Way Forward For America

America, and Americans, should be experiencing the very best of times. Go back four months: An amazing level of prosperity for its citizens, including minorities. America is not at war. 

However, COVID-19 (and many politician’s authoritarian reactions to it) and the riots (and, many politicians’ completely backward reactions to them) indicate that there is much wrong with America in 2020 and some of us are right to fear for its future. 

Tragically, we have:

• A corrupt news media that sees its mission as “advancing a [progressive] narrative” rather than telling the truth. The MSM, as it is today, is a cancer on our nation. 
• A Democratic Party that seems to stand for, err, what? Other than unseating Donald Trump, I can’t tell they have as a vision for the future. Most seem to like power for power’s sake and that is dangerous. 
• A Republican Party that says one thing and votes differently. There are too many like Kansas’ Senator Pat Roberts that run as conservatives but have a mildly liberal voting record (great example, here) The Republicans seem to worry far more about what the New York Times or Washington Post writes rather than their principles; if they have any. 
• A network of courts across the nation that doesn’t seem to be able to find its copy of the Constitution. When the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court compares worshiping Almighty God to going to the laundromat, we are in very serious trouble. "Qualified immunity" sets up a caste that is accountable to no one -- it spits on "equal protection under the law."
• An academy that is more interested in political posturing than education and truthful research. Eisenhower’s Second Warning was even more prescient than his better known First Warning. 

America has always been an ideal. While, throughout our history, we have occasionally failed to live up to that ideal, the ideal is still the best in the history of nations and worth striving for. But, how do we get back on track?

For any new readers, I am a Catholic "Reagan Conservative." A Reagan Conservative is someone who believes in liberty and free enterprise. I firmly believe those are best attained by a small, but competent, government and a firm commitment to the rule of law. And, it is easiest to achieve those goals in a climate where everyone strives to achieve Judeo-Christian morality and mores. 

How can we fix this terrible mess where citizens of the greatest nation in the history of earth are at each other’s throats? 

Since I do not profess to understand what the Democratic Party believes, I cannot offer advice. So, please allow me to focus on the Republicans. 

I recommend the Party recommit itself to (as one recent commentator put it) “The American Way of Life.” What does that mean? A recommitment to Liberty, Free Enterprise, and the Rule of Law.

To achieve those overarching goals, we need:

• A great education for all. 
• An impartial justice system. This includes severe penalities for public officials that misbehave (rather than our current system that seems to allow any level of illegal behavior to be dismissed rather than prosecuted). The public trust is a privilege. If an officeholder violates it, the penalty should be at least as severe as for the ordinary population. 
• Under the First Amendment, the only way to fix the news media is by the Supreme Court revisiting Sullivan, one of the three worst decisions in its history (along with Dred Scott and Roe). The Supreme Court, through Sullivan, allowed the MSM to libel and slander “public figures” with impunity. This is why good people no longer want to run for office. Their families can be dragged through the mud (even if they have done nothing wrong) and there is nothing they can do to repair it. The only people willing to risk this is people who strive for power or wealth rather true public service. 
• A Constitutional Amendment with strict term limits for all political offices. Our wise Founders did not intend for the United States to have a permanent ruling class.
• As I have written, over and over, we need to disperse the government. Department of Transportation to Chicago, Interior to Denver, Agriculture to Wichita, et cetera. The more we can get out of the like-thinking DC swamp, the better off we will be. 

I’m sure there is much more, but this is all I can think of for now. Hope this is helpful as a way forward and that we can emerge better and stronger on the other side.