What is it that separates a legitimate government from an illegitimate one? There are a lot of answers to that question, but right at the top is corruption. Personal profit from “public service” makes you the definition of a warlord.
In every government there are varying degrees of corruption. The “tipping point” as it were, is the personal profit of those at the very top. It becomes impossible to cleanse the corruption without destroying the institutions that have been co-opted into a money-making apparatus. In the most destitute of countries, this is a constant theme. The exploitation of the people for individual gain in the name of “government”.
As I write this, this pattern has unerringly already begun in the president-elect’s inner circle. Trump’s children, as members of his “transition team”, have security clearances even though they have never been vetted, like all members of the state and defense department have. They also run all of his business interests, which begs the question “won’t it be really tempting to use the full weight of classified U.S. Intelligence when making business decisions?”
While these might be questions only cold hearted cynics could dream up, the question we should really be asking is “was your cultural revolution against political correctness worth turning our country into a kleptocracy?”
With his son-in-law currently seeking a position in the white house, these are questions for the cynic no longer. Nepotism is not the same as corruption in business. It undermines the institutions we depend on, and only constant vigilance for one thousand, four hundred and sixty-one days will keep our trust in those institutions alive.
-Jack Delaney
The Radical Centrists 