Governing The Masses For Them

JAMES MADISON made it perfectly clear that the American people could not be trusted to govern themselves. He divided society into two classes: the "better sort", as he put it, and the "lesser sort". In the better sort he included himself, and all other land owning men of wealth, the American aristocracy. The lesser encompassed everyone else. Madison considered the lesser sort inherently incapable of self governance by virtue of their intellectual, social, cultural, and moral inferiority. He had faith in the willingness of superior men such as himself to govern the masses in a wise and just manner, beneficial to their own best interests. Was not the aristocracy of superior morality? Evidently not. By 1795 it had become obvious that the privileged few were in fact looking out only for their own interests, and Madison spent the rest of his life disillusioned with the system he had invented. What Madison and others like him, like George Washington, feared most was democracy, which to them was mob rule and would result in chaos. Madison's masterpiece, the United States constitution, perfectly embodies his ideals of elite governance. Today's better sort are the billionaires, epitomized by people like Donald J. Trump, whose intellectual, social, cultural, and moral superiority are self evident, if only to himself. Just as america's teeming masses once idolized and looked to the haughty, aloof, and superior George Washington for leadership, so do they now; Harley riding blue collar minions elevate Trump with uncompromising veneration. There are some circumstantial similarities between the two men, notwithstanding their opposing view on honesty and integrity. Washington owned thousands of acres of prime Virginia real estate, upon which homeless impoverished lesser sorts often squatted. He routinely ordered his slaves to drive them away, saying that the trespassers were no better than dogs and cats. The slaves willingly complied. Trump owns casinos, dollars, debt, and the name "Trump", which he leases. He drives out immigrants, and for him the lesser sorts are his critics, of which there are millions, the "shit hole" countries in Africa (he prefers Norwegians), and plain looking, outspoken women, whom he often describes as "dogs", "sluts", and "losers". History does not repeat itself, but it follows patterns. If the election of Donald J. Trump proves anything, it is this: James Madison was wrong all along. The American people can be counted on to govern themselves wisely, to choose their own leaders, and to do so better than the better sort. Hillary Clinton won the election, but Madison's electoral college, which he created to keep power away from the people, chose Trump, functioning exactly as the founders intended.