Some guy on Politico thought this would be a good idea: elect someone who’d be above the president but not have any power–just a kind of figurehead, for everyone to love. Stop laughing! He was serious.
Unfortunately for his idea, he never quite figured out how this beloved figurehead ought to be chosen. Libs and moral imbeciles would want some Democrat. Heaven forbid.
Maybe a national lottery, excluding anyone who’s had any role in government at any level? “Our new Beloved Figurehead–Mrs. Margo Sawatski from Saginaw, Michigan!” Or maybe a fictional character would be better. If you could find one that half the people didn’t hate.
Would you trust today’s media not to turn any fictional character into an annoying, preachy, left-wing scold? Betcha they wouldn’t know how to do otherwise.
Reliving the horror of Obama… No, I couldn’t stand it.
There were a large group of people whom were enslaved by the most powerful empire on earth. A man, one solitary 80 year old man, confronted that leader and with Divine backing pronounced ten plagues on the Empire. Finally the leader relented and agreed to let the enslaved people go. A sea was parted to allow their escape and the most powerful army on earth was wiped out before their eyes. They gathered in front of a mountain and found themselves in the very presence of the Almighty, which frightened them to such a degree that they asked their 80 year old human leader to talk to God on their behalf. When he didn’t come back as soon as they wished, they built a golden calf and decided THAT was the god that led them out of Egypt.
Once established as a nation, and with the advantage of laws which taught them about sanitation and the need not to marry close relatives, they were somehow unsatisfied with having the very God of Heaven as their king and demanded a human ruler; a figurehead, as it were.
Think about this; the average citizen of the US would probably not have recognized George Washington had they met him. The average person did not know what he looked like. The laws of the land, which guaranteed certain freedoms, especially freedom from an overbearing government, were the cohesive force which made the US great. To an early 19th century American, it didn’t matter what the president looked like. They wanted freedom and a government which allowed them to operate their own enterprises without interference or over-regulation. In many ways, the atmosphere in the US was much like the halcyon days of ancient Israel, when the Law was in place, but not enforced by any human monarchy.
Unfortunately, if we look to the past and see mistakes which happened, we can be certain that these mistakes will be repeated. When Israel got its king, there was a rapid progression towards trouble. By the time of Solomon, only the third king of Israel, there were pockets of rebellion. When the people called for tax relief, Rehoboam, on the advice of younger, inexperienced counselors, decided to increase the burden on his subjects and ended up losing most of his Kingdom.
Human figureheads are frighteningly similar to the golden calf erected by a band of impatient people at the foot of Sinai. The results would be similarly tragic.