Mark

Elsewhere in the world, wonderful things are happening. @nayibbukele is now in a very strange position, almost a historically unique one. He is simultaneously a democratically elected leader and an absolute dictator. And El Salvador is simultaneously a democracy and a dictatorship. He is a democratically elected leader, whose administration came to power in a free and fair election. And that administration wields power with the just consent of the people of El Salvador. But is also dictator, because the consensus in support of him is so overwhelming, his mandate from the people is so total, that he has a completely free hand to set Salvadorean policy as he chooses. And his choices have done nothing but strengthen that mandate. Imagine, for a moment, being a Salvadorean right now. Imagine knowing that, while your nation is not the greatest, richest, or most powerful on Earth, it is led by a man who, should you suffer harm or danger on foreign soil, will gather his men in their thousands, and send them forth with fire and sword to save you, or to avenge what cannot be saved. Civis Romanus sum. I am a Roman citizen. This phrase was once a strong guarantee of safety and fair treatment throughout most of the known world. Not because Rome ruled everywhere, but because Rome would avenge its own. In a stroke, Nayib Bukele has elevated soy ciudadano Salvadoreño to a similar status. Can you imagine an American president, elected by securing the support of an opaque and fraud-ridden political machine, making the same promise? Can you imagine him making good on it? Can you imagine a United States senator representing the native American citizens living in the state that sent him to the senate house, instead of Silicon Valley, or Wall Street, or some foreign nation with deep pockets, or a consortium of H1-b slavemasters? There is a lesson here, and it is a simple one. The rules matter less than the character of those in office. A democratic republic which elects corrupt bureaucrats is a nation ruled by liars and thieves. And the dictatorship of a just and unselfish man is a nation ruled by a just and unselfish man. The only real purpose of a "system" of government is to place power in the hands of wise men of good character. If the system does not do that, it has no merit, regardless of its form, or philosophy, or reliance on checks and balances. If you brought Diogenes and his lantern to Washington DC to search by daylight, how many wise men of good character do you think he would find?