Scott Gurvey's Public Offerings

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

John Adams, letter to the Massachusetts Militia, October 11, 1798

Our second president predicted that our republic, if it were to fail, would fall as a result of corruption from within. He was remarkably prescient. Many of his writings emphasized the idea that the government’s success relies on the moral integrity of its citizens.

“Liberty cannot be preserved, if the manners of the people are corrupted, and if they are not virtuous.”

John Adams, “Thoughts on Government”, 1776.

We are living John Adams’ nightmare.

So here we are. Facing the dangers posed by corrupt leaders, motivated by avarice, ambition, and revenge. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their acolytes are striving to break the cords of our Constitution “as a whale goes through a net”. So far, there seems little to stop them. Just a few federal judges, some state and local Democratic leaders, and a few journalists. The traditional Constitutional constraints of a robust and independent Congress and Supreme Court have sold their souls to the Trump crusade.

Perhaps this is how the United States of America ends. I have not written for a month, torn between writing a column full of lamentations or bragging that I told you so. I did tell you so. Over and over. And a plurality of the voters still put the embodiment of avarice, ambition, and revenge back in office. Maybe, I thought, I should just give up. Nobody appointed me to save the nation. Or gave me that responsibility.

Adams wrote, “Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.” We have chosen to ignore that advice. For Adams, the virtue of the citizenry was the bedrock of the republic. He argued that without moral and virtuous citizens, the republic could not survive.

Adams also highlighted the importance of an informed populace in safeguarding the republic. “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.” He warned that ignorance could make citizens susceptible to manipulation and the allure of demagogues, threatening the republic’s stability.

But we demonize higher education. And we threaten and prosecute those who have the audacity to speak their opinions and report when lies are used to justify illegal and immoral actions. Fact checking is now seen as treason.

In a letter to his wife Abigail, Adams once wrote about the challenges of maintaining a republic, highlighting the need for constant vigilance against corruption and the importance of education and moral character in sustaining democratic ideals. Just try having a conversation with the millions who voted for Trump. It is like talking to a brick wall. Adans said, “Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all His laws.”

The United States is coming up on its semiquincentennial, its 250th anniversary, dating it from the signing of the Declaration of Independance. It is both ironic and tragic that we will mark that milestone on the watch of a man who has done more to destroy this great nation than any other.

I leave you with a final John Adams’ quote, “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” I wonder if our time is up.

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