Traitors in our midst

“We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

No, the title of the post does not refer to Edward Snowden.  I don't believe we have enough information yet to fully assess his motivations.  That said, I think his actions have ignited a public discussion that is long overdue.   Americans have become so complacent in minding the activities of their government that it takes extreme action to hold the mirror to their faces and ask "is this really what you want?"

Instead, I'm referring to the many officials, great and small, in our government (and corporate boardrooms) who no longer seem to believe the rule of law applies to them.  Those entrusted with federal authority swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.  Once that formality is out of the way, the vast majority of them then ignore any restrictions the document places on their agenda. 

We should not be surprised at this.  For a couple generations, we've gone away from the idea there are objective standards, not subject to personal interpretation.  The question most asked these days is not "is this right," but rather "is this likely to be successful?"  (The second most asked might well be "what are the chances I'll be caught/held accountable?")

This shifting of our foundational perspective has been aided and accelerated by the influx of millions of immigrants, both legal and illegal, who have no grounding in how our system is supposed to function.  For an uncomfortably large number of these, their top-of-mind loyalty isn't to their adopted country, either.

With self-serving Constitutional traitors in charge, boosted by a fifth column of Americans-in-name-only, is it any wonder nobody is looking out for the descendants of those who carefully and with great effort built a Republic just a couple centuries ago?  Those who honor the legacy they were bequeathed are literally people without a country now.  The only remaining question is whether they will be absorbed like so many other displaced peoples, or if they will make a conscious effort to separate themselves in order to survive.