◆The Barbaric Yawp Project

Well now. I have seen a good many spectacles in my time — riverboat gamblers who swore by Providence while palming the deck, revival preachers who could raise the dead provided the collection plate passed twice, and politicians who could wrap a lie in bunting and sell it as patriotism. But I confess, this present carnival has a certain originality. America has always been fond of a rascal. We admire enterprise — especially when it is enterprising enough to separate a fool from his money while convincing him it was his own idea. That is a native art form. But what troubles me is not the trickster. Every democracy breeds one. What troubles me is the audience. A republic survives its scoundrels. It does not survive its appetite for them. You may wave flags until the cloth frays. You may shout liberty until the word goes hoarse. But if you trade judgment for grievance, fact for flattery, and responsibility for spectacle — you will not have been conquered. You will have volunteered. The most dangerous creature in politics is not the liar. We have always had those. It is the citizen who prefers the lie. You see, truth is stubborn, but vanity is tender. And vanity will swallow any medicine if it is sugar-coated with praise. We have mistaken noise for strength, insult for courage, and performance for leadership. That is not new. What is new is the pride taken in it. I once remarked that patriotism is supporting your country all the time — and your government when it deserves it. Somewhere along the way, we have amended that to: support your tribe at all times and your reason when convenient. A free people may be fooled for a season. But when they insist upon remaining fooled — that is no longer deception. That is collaboration. Now I do not despair. America is a restless experiment. She has embarrassed herself before and lived to write about it. But she must remember this: Self-government requires self-respect. And self-respect requires truth — even when it stings. If you wish to save the republic, begin not with your enemies, but with your own willingness to be amused by what ought to alarm you. The trouble is not that the emperor has no clothes. The trouble is that the crowd enjoys the fashion show.