Gang Aft Agley

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Robert Burns

or

The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

The best-laid schemes often go awry... even the best-laid schemes. And few of Man's schemes are well-laid at all.

The Founding Fathers had noble intentions. They proposed a government in which one man had one vote, so that each had equal interest and equal representation. Abraham Lincoln called it "government by the people, for the people, of the people," and vowed that it would not perish from the Earth. These grand sentiments were enshrined in well-laid schemes articulated in documents like the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation.

But even the best-laid schemes "gang aft agley."

In my lifetime, perhaps despite the best efforts of persons of good will or because of the apathy of the common citizen, "government by the people, for the people, of the people" has been replaced with government by the elite, for the elite, and of the elite. "One man, one vote" has become "one dollar, one vote," and whoever spends the most dollars wins. The wealthy elite have hijacked government "by the people, for the people, of the people," and even in some instances convinced some of "the people" that it was in their own best interests to allow it. The wealthy elite have purchased legislators outright, and the government serves their interests and no other.

The American Dream has become a pipe dream for the vast majority of common folk, even the most deserving and able. The dice are loaded, the game is rigged, and no matter how smart you are or how hard you work, you will be lucky to have as much as your parents did.

Banks and corporations are "too big to fail," so the government uses the contributions of common folk to bail those banks and corporations out. Corporate risk is underwritten by working Americans who receive no corporate profits, while the government dismantles the social safety net that once provided a soft landing for those same working Americans in time of trouble. A bank's bad decisions may land it in the sewer, but the government will ensure that it (and its officers) will come out smelling like a rose. Is the same true for a working American?

In George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four the protagonist, Winston Smith, is told that "Two plus two equals five." He rejects the statement as false, but the assertion is repeated again and again until he begins to doubt his own certainty and finally comes to accept the false as true.

Likewise, citizens are likeliest to believe what they hear repeated most. Since the Supreme Court has granted corporations the same "free speech" rights as persons, corporations may now spend as much as they like in promoting their candidates and proclaiming their messages as often as necessary. Anyone unable to muster equivalent funding will find her or his message buried under an avalanche of advertising. This effectively multiplies the vote of those controlling the corporations in proportion to spending.

One dollar, one vote...

Government by the almighty dollar, for the almighty dollar, of the almighty dollar...

Thus dies the American Dream...

Thus dies America...

Gang aft Agley.