European World Order

To understand world politics and the U.S, we must first understand what makes our political systems different. They are pretty basic and fundamental; that is the concept of individualism, the tyranny of the majority, and the purpose of Government itself.

The U.S. was founded on a couple of concepts, primarily that the individuals rights were sacrosanct and the very purpose of government was to protect the individual. Thus when the government is failing to protect those rights, we have a right/responsibility to overthrow that corrupt empire. Thus ‘the government that governs least, governs best’. Most of our systems were setup to balance power, and the purpose of all the branches of American government were to ‘balance’ (see obstruct) the will of the other branches in everything except protecting the rights of individuals. We understood that Democracy is bad; it is 3 wolves and a sheep voting on who’s for dinner — so we made a constitution that protects individuals first in order to take mutton off the menu, then we set up all our systems to waste their time/energy/power fighting each other, so they wouldn’t be able to expend it against the people. If you doubt me, read the Declaration of Independence, some historical writings and the Constitution.

The rest of the world failed to understand what the U.S. was about. It was inefficient; so they streamlined. Read some European Constitutions some time, they are not plagued by the same spirit or American idealism. For them, it is all about the tyranny of the majority. Basically, to quote for Star Trek’s socialist cast member, Mr. Spock, ‘The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one’. Change that to ‘the rights of the few/one are outweighed by the power of the many’, and you understand European politics. They were founded on things like individuals allegiances to the group, thus individuals have less rights than the group, and in fact, they see honor as the individual sacrificing himself for the group. While in American, it is the group that should sacrifice themselves for the individual. Americans who understand our history, understand that groups have no rights, and the purpose of laws are primarily to protect one individual from another (or from the group). Thus in Europe, it isn’t about ‘the individual’, it is about ‘individuals’. Morals are subjective and conform to the will of the group, and individuals that are in the way of the group should be trodden on, and the ideal is to use the largest army to force your desires on everyone else — though since WWII they’ve substituted political army (or public opinion) for military one but the spirit is the same. They represent Democracy.

When you look at their Governmental systems, it reflects that. We have a system that divides Executive (President), Legislative (Congress/Parliament), Judicial (Supreme Court). Most of their systems have legislative parliamentary systems where Parliament elects the Prime-Minister or in yankee-speak, the Congress elects the President from their ranks. Their parliaments usually have the power to alter the judicial system, change the protected rights of the people, and put mutton on the menu whenever they want. Their parliaments can and often do what is called a ‘vote of no confidence’, which means the Prime-Minister (or his party) is not getting enough new laws passed, effectively enough, which requires a new ‘election’ for Prime-Minister (done in their congress, and doesn’t go to the people). This gives their legislature far more power, and makes their system based on the principal, ‘the government that governs most, governs best’. There isn’t a balance between the three branches of government, there is some limited sharing of power by the parliament with their puppet leader and puppet judges. Now the fact that the puppets have wills of their own and some autonomy doesn’t make it a parliamentary autocracy, but there system is far more legislative centered than our own, and puts far more absolute power in the hands of the few (in the name of the many), while the individuals are victims of that power, with abstract influence over it.

Once you understand these fundamental differences, it is far easier to understand their history, their present, and their futures. When you look at France or the EU (European Union), you understand why they have/had Napoleonic law which says, ‘guilty until proven innocent’. You can get why they are trying to rewrite the EU Constitution to suspend that pesky Habeus Corpus. Public opinion is what matters, not the individual. Individuality, and the protection of that persons rights are not the purpose of their government, just a byproduct because the public sort of tolerates it, unless they are in the way. What matters is the hive, the collective, that the will of the many (or politically empowered few) can crush all others, and efficiently steamroll the rights of everyone else, in order to govern. Royal Court politics hasn’t matured as much as just evolved to another court, and thrown in a lot more spin and PR. They double-deal and step on individuals in the name of the people/group. Of course we do that to, but at least it conflicts with our philosophy, instead of aligns with it.

England, seems to be caught between worlds. They aren’t quite Europe, in laws or in spirit — but they aren’t quite America either. They have a bit of the old court thinking, and their old Royalty (and house of Lords), their traditions — mixed with a more modern system. They more socialistic than Americans, but less than the other Europeans. Or to put it in the terms of Donnie and Marie, they are a little bit country, and a little bit Rock and Roll. Many of them realize their fate, that they will be dissolved and diluted into the EU’s new world order. They don’t want to give up their past and their individuality, but they are afraid of stepping further towards American ideals either. So they gave the world the magna carta, but we had to take it to the next level with the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. For me they are like a person who has lost all of their friends to the Borg collective, and is trying to decide whether to die alone, or join the hive. Sadly, I think it is inevitable that they’ll join the Borg, er, EU fully, and another ingredient in the stew, will be blended into the flavorless soup.

Of course things are never as simple as a small article can sum up. The American electoral college has a few similarities to Parliament in elections, congress can impeach a President (with far more hoops and difficulties than their parliaments can), many Americans fail to understand their own history and subscribe to a socialist group-think more similar to Europeans, and there are certainly a few Europeans that understand the American system and are trying to teach the masses, even if they are drowned out by the collective voice of the miseducated/misinformed masses and biased European media. While Americans may have certain ideals on individuality, we have often fallen quite short of them — and while Europeans may not have those rights codified as well, they have often tolerated individual liberties fairly well (sometimes better than us), and not slid completely down the slippery slope into totalitarianism. So the world is a complex and not an easy black and white.

I keep hoping Europeans (and Canadians, and Australians, and Asians, and Middle-Easterners, and Latin Americans, and Africans) will learn the lessons of history, which is that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that too much efficiency in government isn’t necessarily a good thing. Making governments inefficient and slow to change may be ‘conservative’ and frustrating to the liberals, but most swings in power go too far and hurt many people in the process — thus a little dampening isn’t all bad. I hope they learn that a government or society that doesn’t put individuals first, is on a slippery slope, whether they ever fall down it or not. I have hope that they will grow and evolve and backlash against their own ‘politically correct liberal hive-mind’ and steer more towards individuality and freedom, just like I hope the same for us. But I’m realistic enough that I can see what is, and what is likely, and raging against the machine may be a fight in futility. Still, like watching a wayward child make bad choices; you may not be able to sway them or change them from their bad paths (only they can do that), but it is still your responsibility/obligation to try, and to love them and offer them support anyways.

Many in America want ‘us’ to become more like ‘them’; while I, obviously, hope for them to become more like us. Just because more think like them, doesn’t make them right — that’s the fallacy of Democracy. If it weren’t for the unreasonable individuals challenging the status quo, the group, the collective, then there would have been no progress for human kind. Hopefully this article will open a few American and even Europeans minds, just a little.