A Cauldron of Corruption

How consistent of a liar do you have to be to lose track of the lies you’ve told so utterly that you start contradicting yourself with the zealous fervor of a true believer? How corrupt must an institution be to allow individuals openly planning a coup and the overthrow of a duly elected president to continue to draw a paycheck even when all their machinations were brought out into the light?

We are too large of a nation to survive as a banana republic. If the rule of law is not uniform, if justice is not blind, if the life of a decent, honorable man who served his country for decades can be systematically taken apart and irreparably destroyed because some pencil pushers felt like it, we’ve got bigger problems on our hands than the Chinese flu.

We’ve always assumed a certain level of corruption. At least those of us who are not naïve and understand how the world works did. It’s like buying popcorn at a movie theater; you know you’re going to pay a premium. Oh, wait! You may not be able to relate. It’s like buying a face mask nowadays; you expect a markup because the demand outpaces the supply.

What we never imagined was the level of it. Not even the most cynical of souls could have imagined the cauldron of corruption and deceit that is the entrenched political class. Those perma-bureaucrats who manage to stay on the taxpayer dole administration after administration, growing all the more powerful and influential, while insisting they are public servants.

I realize to most of you this doesn’t matter, at least nowadays, with so many things on your mind, but it should. The reason it should is because any tenuous faith that people had in government and the rule of law has been torpedoed, and resentment is building up like bile in the back of one’s throat.

It’s not as bad as we imagined, it’s worse than we imagined, and believe you me, I have a pretty vivid imagination. By itself, this would only be something the average citizen would be incensed about and denounce, but it’s not a singular event. It’s just another straw added onto the creaking back of a citizenry that is beginning to wake up to the reality that their elected officials, those in government, those who hold the reins of power and make laws that are supposed to be to the benefit of the common working man, are nothing more than power-hungry ghouls who see the voter as an impediment to their vision.

There have been countless moments throughout history when the governed grew disillusioned with those governing them, and more often than not, it ended in violence, death, and overthrow.

What they are not yet understanding is that the status quo won’t cut it anymore. We’ve seen too much, we’ve heard too much, we’ve peeked behind the mask and were horrified at the grotesque things we caught a glimpse of, so being told that there isn’t a smidgeon of corruption, or that there’s nothing to see here and we should just move along just won’t do.

I know, I know, you’re thinking to yourself that this is out of left field, not that important, but just give it a few days, and you’ll have a better understanding. And while I’m at it, since I’m feeling a bit froggy this morning, whatever happened to all those prescient luminaries insisting that the whole Russian collusion thing would uncover sinister plots, imbedded Russian assets, and summarily end administrations?

As George Bush tried saying once, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t bother. Just saying. 

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.