Where are our leaders?

What will happen to a society of followers?

I visited the man who didn’t worship power today. Our Cincinnatus, George Washington. There is so much to admire about a man who held the scepter of power and let it go. I stood in front of his tomb with 5 of my son’s middle school friends, the heat was beating on us, with so many emotions and thoughts running through me. I didn’t know what to say, so I said simply thank you. Each of the boys followed by saying thank you.

We walked the dusty stone trail and I observed other chaperone groups— kids racing ahead, screaming, and completely unaware of others around them—with the parents trailing the group often reduced to yelling to get the kid’s attention. When we arrived, I told my group there are two ways I will lead you today, from the front and you will be expected to follow me, and from the back, where you get the freedom to lead if you respect the responsibility. On our way to Washington’s Tomb two of the boys leading missed the sign to turn and for the rest of the day I lead from the front. My group wasn’t running ahead or straggling behind and I didn’t have to yell to get their attention. All I had to do was explain the rules and then engage them. I asked the boys about their favorite movies, tv shows, and books. I lectured them about how remarkable a man George Washington was, and I explained the blessings of republican government and why it is important to preserve. The boys were very respectful, smart, and kind. Their parents should be proud.  

It was disappointing that the chaperones weren’t provided with a schedule or plan, and there was no information to pass along to the kids. How are children supposed to grow up and know how to lead if no one is showing them? What will happen to a society’s followers? There were kids wearing Trump will Save us in 2024 hats and kids wearing masks outside, and they were leading the adults. Today I stood where great men once stood and watched children lead and I asked myself one question.

Where are our leaders?

After I got home, I began reflecting on my experience. I thought about how improbable and special our union was and how great the men were who formed it. But I also thought about how our government is broken and if we don’t fix it, our union could come undone. Our government is a democratic republic, and it is designed to keep both a majority or a minority from ruling the masses. It is designed to provide balance. The key to the success of this government rests on the adequate representation of the people. This topic was hotly debated during our founding and there are several excerpts from the Federalists Papers about it. Here is one from Federalist 10.

“In the first place it is to be remarked, that however small the republic may be, the representatives must be raised to a certain number, in order to guard against the cabals of a few; and that however large it may be, they must be limited to a certain number, in order to guard against the confusion of a multitude.”

For the first 100-plus years of our existence, we added representation as the population grew but in 1911 we capped the House and in 1929 congress passed the Permanent Appropriation Act of 1929. Since then, our country has been slowly consolidating power into the parties and the wealthy, and “in order to guard against the cabals of a few” we need to uncap the House.

Our founders studied the flaws of the Roman and Greek republics, diagnosing their problems as a lack of representation leading to an influence of wealth in government. The solution our founders came up with was to extend the sphere of power to the people. Federalist No. 35 “The idea of an actual representation of all classes of the people by persons of each class is altogether visionary.”  Our founders spread out the responsibility of governing to a larger portion of the population, it is the key to our success.

The year we capped the house our representation ratio was 1:220k, by 1970 it was 1:400k and today it’s 1:756k. There are over 50 congress members worth over $10 million. We lack representation and our government is heavily influenced by wealth. We are a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, but only if the people have adequate representation.