And America hasn’t been the same since. We have become cynical, our government and media have been largely taken over by Republicans who are still pissed off that their party’s crimes were uncovered. Really, though, they should be grateful that the GOP as a whole pretty much got away with it.
Shortly thereafter, Ford pardoned Nixon so the crooked bastard wouldn’t have to account for his many crimes, while the Repubs planned a takeover of the public and private sectors so as to ensure that they would never again be held to account for their illegal, immoral, unethical or anti-constitutional actions. With a few exceptions, that takeover has been a great success.
Today, politicos routinely resign rather than face charges, because Nixon set a precedent; and they are rarely prosecuted, because Ford set another precedent. Political crime and corruption have been legitimized to the extent that an illegitimate “President” (Bush II) could steal the Executive Branch, loot the Treasury, allow thousands of us to be killed, lie us into war, kill thousands more innocent people in other countries…and face not one single consequence for such horrific crimes.
More than one commentator has bemoaned the decline in respect for the rule of law, the lack of trust in government, the rise of hyper-partisanship, and the general corruption and cynicism that plagues our society today. And justly so. But rarely do they trace these naitonal afflictions back to their root cause.
In my humble opinion, the reason our country has turned to shit can be traced back to 1974, when President Nixon shredded the constitution, committed and encouraged manifold crimes, lied to America…and was then allowed to walk away scot-free.
Crimes need to have consequences. Criminals need to be punished. Otherewise, a society will become a lawless, corrupt cesspool of neo-anarchistic social Darwinism. And that is what has happened in the past four decades.
Fuck you, Tricky. And fuck all those who allowed you to run away from justice.
CC
The Curmudgeonly Contrarian 