There
is nothing in this world that Americans are more proud of than
representative democracy. It is, to be sure, something for which we
are to be justly proud. True enough, it has not been perfect. At
times some country here and there has moved ahead of us in some
innovation; but on the whole America has believed that if it sticks
by representative democracy, benefits will come. America has not
looked for benefits to be given by some far off potentate or
political strongman. Instead Americans have looked to ourselves and
our neighbors to protect our life, our liberty, and our property.
Americans are curious people because we will take the long road
’round to get what is desired rather than take a short cut through
authoritarianism. We make sure as many people are on board and we do
it. It is just what you would expect from a country of merchants and
machinists, farmers and factory workers. The beating heart of
America’s political machine is worker and producer and not the
aristocrat or technocrat.
Yet,
there has been a worrying trend lately that has preyed on America’s
fears rather than her strengths or loves or even history. On one hand
there are status quo technocrats who wish to make America look like a
European country. While I do admit to loving Europe, the first thing
I did when I got home from a visit there was to kiss the ground. I
think most Americans are like me. I don’t have much fear about a
globalist agenda taking place. Yet, the worst kind of disease is the
one that finds a small fear, blows it out of proportion, and then
imports its far more insidious infection through the back door. I
fear, there are some who are attempting just that. I will stick with
just one example, because it is an example that is played out in
other areas in our government.
Ajit
Pai is a lawyer and a lobbyist. He attempts to wrap himself in the
mantel of a tech guy and a Republican, but he is no more either one
of those things than I am. While I can only be said to have hurt a
few computers and broken things I don’t understand, Pai appears to
be doing this on a grander scale with the entire internet. And while
my political persuasion is that of a staunch moderate and independent
who votes for common sense laws that don’t morally compromise my
country, Pai appears to vote for the corporations who will promise
him the most comfort.
Comfort
is a dangerous siren’s song. People have tried to sing the song to
Americans before. People tried to sing it to us in the Revolution
when we wanted representative democracy. People tried to sing it to
us for the institution of slavery. People tried to sing it to us that
we should only import goods and not attempt industry or manufacturing
ourselves. People have tried to sing it to us to not meddle with Nazi
affairs in Europe. The history of evil is written to the tune of
comfort. The same is true of people and corporations as it is of
nations and people. The unthinking easy way is better than the
disciplined hard way, these people say. Do not look at the failed
history of this tune, pay no attention to the wreckage, just trust us
and everything will be okay.
Ajit
Pai has been sung this song. Maybe he believes it or maybe he
doesn’t. The easy thing is just to allow a centralized authority,
the telecommunication monopolies, control the American internet, and
therefore the world’s internet. The American people, through
Republicans and Democrats, have stood up for the need to have an
industry that serves their needs. Imperfectly, we have made a place
for businesses to come in and lay down cables. While other countries
have blazed ahead in internet speeds, Americans have felt comfortable
to allow companies to shoulder this responsibility because of our
unique vision for the free market. Sadly, somewhere along the line
our bequeathment of the right to construct a free-market internet was
used against us. The servants and beneficiaries of America’s
benevolence have become overlords and masters who, because their
usurped authority has not been challenged, have turned against the
people who gave them what they have. The even fashion themselves
innovators and benign providers of a common good, but wish to
undemocratically wrest the control of that good from the American
people and other corporations.
In
the face of this threat, the American people have written and begged
Ajit Pai and others to please not do this thing. We have asked and
demanded that the government cease dolling out “most-favored
business” rulings to corporations. The telecommunications companies
have no more right to the internet than anyone else in this country.
They had a government contract to lay down the cable, like a road
crew. In fact they were given more leeway than a road crew and more
input too, often times blatantly failing to adhere to their contracts
and bypassing “unprofitable” Americans. They also could control
speeds. It is hard to justify giving more control to an industry that
has shown itself to be mostly above board, it is unconscionable to do
so with an industry that has willfully and blatantly ignored its
contracts. Giving power to any entity and away from the people, then
lying about doing so, is un-American.
The
current FCC is being governed by such an un-American ethos. The
director and those like him have sought not to be public servants but
to be lawyers who seek to find an excuse to allow their client (in
this case the telecommunications companies) to extract more from
Americans. The American people have written to the FCC and are left
unheard. Legal briefs have actually been filed, but justice appears
to not be on the agenda. When the people and justice are ignored,
Americans should be concerned.
Secretly,
without our noticing what happened, America shifted from a country
that was concerned about doing its best to a country that looked to
be part of a club. The current administration, which elevated Pai to
his current position, has done this systematically. While pursuing
actions which hurt average Americans and to which average Americans
have naturally pushed back, it wraps itself in a mantle of defending
against the insidious threat of globalism. Yet, it only succeeds by
warning Americans who question its authority, that they will be out
of their club. This is the perfect example of using fear to take away
the, dare I say, rights of Americans. Refusing to listen or
acknowledge that this a wildly unpopular move, an appointed official
is pushing through a law that does not have the support of the
people. When confronted, the administration uses the playbook of
authoritarians and dictators, they denounce those speaking for the
people as un-American and unpatriotic. If the people are no longer
able to hold those who transgress laws accountable, do we still have
justice? If the people are no longer allowed to have a say on our
laws, do we still have a representative democracy?
There
will always be cranks who will never give a person an honest shake.
But the average American used to be able to admit that they could
tell the difference. Dictators take control when they notice that
people in their country are more concerned with belonging to an
in-crowd than standing by justice and having a say in how their lives
are run. Too often of late, we have elected a civil servant with the
understanding that our group will put the screws on that other group.
We become so loyal to our group that we excuse them from being public
servants and looking out for our well being. Those in power see this,
they see where they can make a future for themselves, and the give
appointments to people who will further their career more than
perform their duty.
We
must be honest with ourselves about what is happening. Ajit Pai is a
non-elected official who wields power over the greatest invention of
the past few years. He, and his associates, wish to turn it into
their own fiefdom. It will throttle innovation, skim money from
people, and further limit freedom in America. This is not a win for
the free market, but rather a loss for it. And more than that, it
shows that Americans are willing to put up with a loss of
representative democracy so long as their clan is in power. The
message it sends is chilling for all of us in this country who were
brought up to love liberty.
