Was I Wrong in 2011?

In 2011, the attention of our nation was consumed by the economic problems caused by the sub-prime mortgage debacle of 2008. That’s why everyone thought I was crazy when I wrote these words…

“Western Society is in danger of becoming self-righteous, sanctimonious and insufferably judgmental. If history is to be our guide, the next 20 years will be when we move from our agreement of mutual brokenness, ‘I’m Not Okay – You’re Not Okay,’ to embrace a self-righteous indignation, ‘I’m Okay – You’re Not Okay.’ Sanctimonious vigilante-ism will become popular as indignant leaders demonize their enemies and rally their followers by appealing to their inborn sense of rightness and social obligation, ‘Let’s clean this place up and to hell with compromise. They are entirely wrong and we are entirely right. They are stupid. We are wise. They are evil. We are good.’”

“The last time we went through this, America formed a committee in Congress called the House Un-American Activities Committee (1938) and later watched with glee while Senator Joseph McCarthy destroyed countless lives by recklessly branding his enemies as ‘Communists,’ and creating the infamous blacklists.”

“This sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? I know it does. I’m writing because I want you to be able to look back and recall how absurd this all sounded when I first told you what was on the horizon.”

I brought that 11-year-old prediction to your attention because I’m going to share something else that I see poking it’s head up over the horizon.

Are you familiar with the argument that roared among the founding fathers during the 1790’s?

Thomas Jefferson feared tyranny and was worried that a strong Federal government would stifle individual freedoms. He envisioned a decentralized republic built of small, agricultural towns. Alexander Hamilton feared anarchy and desired the structure and order that a strong Federal government would provide. He envisioned centralized, efficient power at the top of the pyramid.

When the Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 that restricted the activities of foreign residents and limited freedom of speech and of the press, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which called on state legislatures to nullify federal laws.

I believe we are seeing the acceleration of that argument between “Federal Power” Hamilton and “States Power” Jefferson, but I believe this time Jefferson will win.

I know you would like me to speak plainly, so I will. But first I want to make it clear that I am not advocating the thing I am about to describe. In 2011 I didn’t want to see our nation degenerate into two polarized groups that were equally self-righteous, sanctimonious and insufferably judgmental, but it happened anyway. Likewise, I don’t want to see a surging escalation of state’s rights that ultimately cause our nation to become an expanded and updated version of the European Union, but I believe that is where we are headed.

By 2033 you will hear this idea of “each state doing their own thing” being proposed by Alpha Voices that will arise and popularize it.

Ten years later, the “ME” cycle of 2043 will be launched in the heady delusion that all of America’s problems can be solved by letting each state become, in essence, its own little country. America will maintain a common currency and a standing army to defend the member states, but the real power of the nation will have shifted to the governors and state legislatures. When you cross a state line the laws will change in profound and meaningful ways.

By 2063 we will have begun to realize that if you sow to the wind, you reap a whirlwind, and we will begin to mourn what we left behind.

I will be 105 years old in 2063 so it is unlikely that I will be paying much attention. But that’s okay. I’ve already seen this movie, I know how it ends.

Roy H. Williams

PS – I apologize if this seems unfair, but I did not write these things to you so that we could have a discussion about it. In truth, I would rather go to the dentist and have a root canal without anesthesia. But about once a decade I see the future clearly and write down what I see. I am prepared to be wrong. In fact, I hope I am wrong. But this is not a subject I really want to talk about. I wrote today’s Monday Morning Memo so that it can gather dust in the archives and be read by historians of the future who will say, “Well, he was only stating the obvious.” – RHW

Hindsight is that moment when smug academicians look at what was once impossible and call it “inevitable.” – Indy Beagle