I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and witnessed the end of the Cold War as the 80s became the 90s. It was truly a great time to be alive, because the cause of the western Democracies was validated by the collapse of the eastern Communist states, especially the Soviet Union. America was the “Leader of the Free World.” We lead by example as much as action. We had a strong economy, the rule of law, and citizens imbued with guaranteed, inalienable Rights. Our government was formed upon the very idea that the power of government MUST be limited, and that the individual’s rights took precedence over governmental power. These conditions created and maintained a populace whose rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” were the catalyst for progress, wealth, and over two hundred years of stability.
I remember back in my high school days, critically studying the mechanisms of American Democracy, and those of the Soviet Union. Then, in that brief time after the Berlin Wall fell and when Putin came to power, historians were able to research in the vast files of the Soviet Union. The result was a torrent of excellent reading that emerged about five years ago. I again took up some personal study when I could.
When I was a kid, I remember being struck by the fact that Russians were essentially prisoners of their own country. Their freedoms were denied at such a high level that they could not even leave if they wanted to. Their government controlled their lives to that extent. I genuinely felt for them. Here in America we had no such restriction on our freedoms. We could say what we wanted, to whom we wanted. We could travel freely, independent of governmental oversight or restriction. We had choices. Choices in everything from our daily lives, to choices in who were our leaders. If we didn’t like things, we could change them. Move to a new place, buy a new car, or “throw the bums out” of Washington DC if they didn’t meet with our approval.
Even worse than a lack of freedom, the people of the Soviet Union, and its client states lived with ever-present fear. Their governments had absolute power over their lives. They were powerless and their governments were powerful. They had no true guarantee of Rights. No judicial oversight. No ability to defend themselves against the abuse of governmental power. Even being merely suspected of some imagined crime could land them in Lubyanka Prison or the gulag. The fear was also maintained by a collection of state intelligence agencies who could arrest without warrant. Hold without hearing or bail. The main tool of the Soviet justice system was the confession, and the confession was gained thorough torture.
Not so in America. We were “the good guys”. Good guys followed the rule of law. Good guys relied on a well regulated judicial system to use facts to determine guilt or innocence. Good guys believed in innocence until factual proof of guilt. Good guys lived by the rules. Good guys didn’t resort to torture.
Best of all, we had a system of checks and balances that prevented any one part of government have too much power. The founding fathers had but one fear, tyranny. Tyranny of any one person, political party, even of a Tyranny of the majority. They succeeded in that goal through the structure of the government via the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Then, we faced a crisis.
(to be continued…)