When we've had an ouef

I imagine that you all heard, as children, the nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

An interesting question that might be asked, although unlikely from a 4-year-old, is why it was all the King’s horses and all the King’s men that were tasked with the job of trying to glue a giant egg back together. Surely craftspeople would have been better employed in this endeavour. I mean, horses don’t even have toes, let alone opposable thumbs.

Many people are lamenting the smashing of US institutions that is running rampant right now. Some might say its all the King's men that are doing it. I’m no particular sage to have seen it coming, many people portended of same, although the extent and speed is nonetheless breathtaking — and does not speak to careful consideration of actions or ramifications beyond destruction.

But here’s the truth (in my opinion, who else’s would I write in?) there are/were a number of institutions in the US that might do better with a little smashing. Particularly if followed by a thoughtful rebuilding.

Washington DC is the land of incremental movement. Over decades that can lead to a lot of governmental sclerosis and excess. And there has been no real demonstrable mechanism for dramatic change in the US, outside of severe calamity, such as war or the depression, or, if we go back far enough, revolution. From a global perspective we can, historically, also throw in monomaniacal leader, —which often ends up intertwined with war, depression, revolution. These great moments and movements have led to great societal breaking. At which point the critically important question becomes: who does the great societal rebuilding?

Much like the fairness catalyst that says one person cuts the cake into two “even” slices and the other person gets first choice of slices. I'd suggest the smashers should not be the rebuilders.

FDR was a great man, although far from loved by all. I do believe he was the right man to lead us out of the depression and into and through the war, but I also believe that one of the best things he did for the US was to die before the war was over and be replaced by Harry Truman. As the US surfed on WWII victory and became the first modern superpower, it was led by Truman, who was known for his hard work, humble accountability and lack of self-aggrandizement. The US in many ways followed suit. “Greatness” ensued.

Then times changed...

Check the Moral Compass

Obviously, “breaking” can come in different forms. I saw the content of the “Fork in the Road” letter sent by Musk and DOGE ahead of layoffs, it smugly announced, “The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector,” The billionaire hubris dripping from that statement is difficult to fully encompass. And he’s wrong, of course. Some things are not better handled by private sector. Two that come readily to mind are healthcare and the penal system.

The linchpin of the whole capitalist system is sustainable profits. But when this goal underpins healthcare or the penal system, you have goals that are at their most fundamental, diametrically opposed. The goal of the healthcare system is to cure sickness and get people to living a healthy life. The goal of the penal system is (in theory) to rehabilitate people and help them become contributing citizens. But if those goals are achieved, then the private sector healthcare and penal companies would lose their profits. See a conflict here? Trust me, the billionaires do. So they bend the system in their favour. They want you paying for healthcare forever and they want the prisons filled with repeat customers. This hydra has its tentacles in many places.

When the smashing is over, dare we rebuild in a better way?

Smashers smash. Rebuilders rebuild. Elections are coming. Whoever we decide to put in charge, let’s make them — before we vote for them — lay out in detail a plan to re-make the US that is rewarding to ALL its inhabitants. And, like Truman, to the inhabitants of the world also. You can’t have too many friends. (Except on Facebook.)