Sans Ego, One Can Change the World

How Joe Biden Eluded the Philosopher King Analogy

In the Republic, Plato discusses that Just management of a city state requires philosopher kings. In Book V of the Republic, Socrates postures, “Unless, either philosophers become kings in our states or these whom we now call our kings and rulers take to the pursuit of philosophy seriously and adequately, and there is a conjunction of these two things, political power and philosophical intelligence, while the motley horde of natures who at present pursue either apart from the other are compulsorily excluded, there can be no cessation of troubles for our state, nor, I fancy, for the human race either.” Presumably, according to Plato, an altruistic philosopher king would rule in the best interests of his citizens and state instead of himself. Socrates acknowledges his statement is paradoxical and the hope for humanity to cherish this divergence of political power and philosophical intelligence will receive scorn but prophetically concludes, “For it is not easy to see that there is no other way of happiness either for public or private life.” In a nutshell, if a ruler can navigate beyond their own perception of self (ego), they could change the world.

For 2500 years we have had nothing but leaders who, driven by ego and the prospect of a legacy, continue to prove Plato’s prediction that the notion of philosopher kings continue to receive nothing but scorn. Until the election of one Joseph Robinette Biden. President Biden’s situation has created something I have never witnessed in modern political leadership, namely, middle-class Joe has no cognitive perception of his ego and apparently cannot project his current actions towards his presidential legacy.

In my lifetime, the United States has had four progressive democratic presidents and all left (or are leaving) a deepening welfare state in their wake. Socialist ideologically was their platform and that is what they tried to create with the powers lent to them by the American people. But each of them, were befell with external global or domestic political issues that seriously bumped up against their ideologies and were forced to contend with their egos and contemplate their legacies rather then stay true to their missions.

Jimmy Carter whose campaign slogan was, “A Leader, For a Change” was an evangelists for Christian Socialism however, his term was beset with high inflation, gasoline shortages and the Iran hostage situation. A purely ideological leader, would have burned the boats on the shores of his inauguration and followed their ideological North Star. Alas, ego and legacy (and a re-election campaign) forced Carter to moderate his policies and tackle the rampant inflation and change his dove-like foreign policy.

The next democratic president, or should I say the two for the price of one presidency, was William Jefferson Clinton. The man from Arkansas saxophoned and "fiddled" his way into America's 42nd presidential spot bound and determined to pick up where Jimmy Carter's socialism left off. His first term agenda included a nationalized healthcare scheme and First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton was tapped to lead the charge. Being president meant that Bill Clinton had far more pressing engagements to attend to. 😉

But something happened on Bill Clinton's road to healthcare nirvana. It flopped with the American people and allowed Newt Gingrich to usher in a red wave midterm election with his "Contract with America" platform.  Under the guidance of strategist, Dick Morris, Clinton was forced to drop healthcare and his unpopular wife, and triangulate himself into a second term election victory. The nation owns a tremendous debt of gratitude to the young intern who skillfully distracted the president from inflicting more socialist damage upon the nation in Pres. Clinton’s second term. Ego and legacy, as it turns out, are powerful restraints against super political ideologies.

Then came number 44, Barack Hussein Obama, who’s presidential aspirations were to complete the failed Clinton healthcare coup and to transform our nation. The transformation ideology was best explained by First Lady, Michelle Obama on the 2008 campaign trail as, “Barack knows that we are going to have to make sacrifices; we are going to have to change our conversation; we’re going to have to change our traditions, our history; we’re going to have to move into a different place as a nation.”

Obama was successful in ushering in the destruction of the world’s most advanced medical system with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the first two years of his presidency. Although he was wise enough to not have the debilitating healthcare reformation take affect until after his successful reelection bid. In case no one has picked up on this yet, the ACA is the legislative tool that made impotent the world’s most advanced medical system during the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to the ACA, healthcare is now system that relies on government dictates and funding for its very survival, and as such, when the nation and the world needed it most to fight the pandemic, the American healthcare industry simply rolled over like a lap dog during the recent Covid-19 debacle.

Like his progressive predecessors, the fear of a one-term legacy caused him to moderate after the midterm elections dominated by TEA Party reprisals took control of the House of Representatives. President Obama, due to his relative youth realize that he would have many post Presidency years to live out his legacy in his two rising sea water resistant beach homes. Although President Obama was successful in starting the transformation of the United States, mostly through fomenting division among the American people, he was unable to legislate too much more damage to our Republic. Again, preservation of ego and legacy proved to temper Obama's progressive agenda.

Republicans are not immune to the ego/legacy restraints. Ronald Reagan was deceived into amnesty on illegal immigrants in 1986 and Donald Trump feared for his legacy when he followed Anthony “Wormtongue” Fauci into the pandemic shutdown abyss.

For good or ill, Presidents protecting their egos and fretting about their legacies, have proven one of the best tools in moderating extreme policy actions. Although democratic presidents seem not to fear eternal judgement for their earthly deeds, they are very aware that they will have to live the rest of their life with their legacy. Even though they have a very complaint media lobbing softballs at them in retirement, they are not free from criticism if the media industrial complex feels the progressive caused can be advanced by stomping on a former beloved progressive president.

So, what does that mean for Joe Biden? What about his ego and legacy? Well, I can’t speak for his ego, but he will leave a legacy. Right now, that legacy is stacking up to be:

·       Highest inflation in 41 years

·       Highest interest rates hikes in 30 years

·       Highest gas prices in US history

·       Tumbling stock markets

·       Falling consumer sentiment

On top of Joe Biden’s dismal economic record, he has championed the most porous southern boarder. An Afghan draw down that was a national disgrace and his wayward son’s drug induced dalliance through Russian and Chinese power structures certainly will leave a mark regarding the question of financial impropriety. Finally, Joe Biden’s legacy looks to include the greatest mid-term thumping since Grover Cleveland lost 100 seats in 1894.

But here is the rub. Our old president in dotage does not fully comprehend his actions now and most surely will not be remembering them after he leaves office. That particular knowledge in the hands of nefarious individuals, can and will prove disastrous for the United States and world. For without a president worried about how posterity will perceive his actions, there is no governor on the dastardly deeds that can be inflicted upon the citizens of the United States by the people managing lunch bucket Joe.

An honest media, the 4th branch of government, could stop this. Honest and mainstream reporting on the true Biden missteps and foibles would inform the nation, not only about these disastrous policies, but about the true cognitive condition of our president. Alas, like the healthcare industry, this media knows which side butters their bread and truthful reporting seems as likely as an authentic breakfast taco ever making it onto a Biden Whitehouse menu.

I am not sure if our nation can resist the emotional appeal of socialism that has subdued all economically robust countries since Karl Marx penned his great fictional short story, titled the “Communism Manifesto in 1848.” I hold out even less hope that world leaders will ever combine political power and philosophical intelligence in managing our governmental affairs. Humanity’s best hope for just governments rests in electing people who believe they will face Divine judgement for their earthly actions. The next best safeguard is electing leaders who selfishly protect their egos and legacies as that seems to reign in extreme ideologies.

We are now witnessing the worst possible election result scenario, that is if one wishes for the continuation of Untied States’ freedoms and sovereignty. We have elected a president that certainly does not pass the Plato philosopher king sniff test. Our Commander in Chief obviously does not fear the coming Divine judgment, nor does he seem to have the capacity to see the unfolding of his presidential legacy. There is an ego rattling about somewhere inside Joe Biden, but instead of protecting its owner’s posterity, the president’s ego is tilting at windmills on the domestic front and assuming the mantle of a pauper on the international stage.  So, as it turns out, when one is not in control of their ego and cannot accurately project their legacy, one can truly change the world. We should not really worry about what Joe Biden is doing, we should be very concerned about what the people who know this truth and who are managing President Biden plan to do. For the greatest power ever wielded in human history may very well be the marionettists who pulls the strings knowing that the White House occupant’s ego will not interject and give pause to protect his legacy.