An Anti-Federalist in Sheep's Clothing?Dec 06 '02 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line This is an essay that looks at what a resurrected Anti-Federalist would think of a book by Jim Hightower. James Hightower is a sympathizer of Anti-Federalist notions, and for that his book There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos is a fine piece of Anti-Federalist propaganda. Imagine for a moment the premises that we as Anti-Federalists hold near and dear to our hearts: the notion of voluntary obedience to the laws and government; a genuine responsibility of the government to the people; love of liberty, independence, and personal freedoms; and the fact that individual liberty is far more important than the glory of the nation. Hightower adequately agrees with such Anti-Federalist notions and for that, we welcome him into the American Anti-Federalist Party. A further look at Hightower’s arguments from his book will further show how he sympathizes with the Anti-Federalist causes. And for his book, the Anti-Federalists across the United States are grateful for modernly addressing the beliefs of the party. Hightower addresses the problems that face the political structure and system today. His work delves into some of the core beliefs that Anti-Federalists teach and shows how even to this very day the messages of the Anti-Federalists carry on. Politicians, quite obviously, are a large part of the problem that faces the American political system. Hightower writes, “There’s the rub, I think, in today’s politics. Politicians don’t know the people because they simply aren’t much among them…The people are little more than fodder for photo ops, focus groups, speechwriters, and campaign ads- not a body for politicians to mess with, and certainly not for them to listen to.” (Hightower 261) Such a notion flies directly in the face of everything that the Anti-Federalists have to believe in. As Anti-Federalists, we believe that it is fundamental that those chosen to represent the American people should be as alike as possible to those whom they are representing. When those who are being represented are merely used as political pawns, then the Anti-Federalist ideology is not being adhered to, because those in power believe that they are superior to those whom they are representing. The political process is flawed due to the politicians detached nature from those whom they are supposed to be representing. As a friendly note, the Anti-Federalists would recommend that Mr. Hightower remove a certain statement from his book though, because it basically flies in the face of what was just previously established. He writes, “It is common to assail members of Congress and other Washington politicians for being out of touch with everyday reality. But they are regular Joe Six-Packs compared to (these) CEO’s.” (Hightower 84) When Hightower writes this, he is almost giving into the politicians and admitting that they are more like us than is true. Politicians are not alike “Joe Six-Pack” and we would respectfully ask Mr. Hightower to remove this statement to strengthen the Anti-Federalist argument that politicians are unlike the citizenry, and that is a problem. To further prove this detached state of our politicians, Hightower writes, “Campaign consultants insist that politicians must spend time with ‘people who count’- major contributors, power brokers, key media personalities, consultants (of course!), and…well, you know, the players. Politicians no longer feel compelled to live in our neighborhoods or send their kids to public schools. They lunch at Casa de la Maison House, not at the Chat & Chew, and they party and play with lobbyists and contributors, not with any of us.” (Hightower 262) And the problematic implications of such detachment again can be found contrary to what the Anti-Federalists believe in. How can such a detached politician accurately represent the Anti-Federalist ideals? The answer is simple: they cannot. No overly detached politician will show that they believe the government for which they work for has a genuine responsibility to the people. Rather, because of their social and economic status, the detached politician will believe that the people have a responsibility both to them and the work they do (LAWS!). The overly detached politician will strive more for the glory of the state, because in turn, such a fete also includes the glory of the politician. Any attempt to try and preserve individual liberty will take a back burner status to the idea of bringing glory to the nation. Now some Federalist thinking folk might believe that the people are adequately represented and the complaining should cease. Well, let me tell you, they are wrong. Hightower writes, “At the root of the public’s negative feeling is something entirely positive: Americans want to be involved in the politics and government of their country. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, which says the majority is too self-absorbed with their own lives to care about public life, they have a deep longing to participate. ‘It’s not that the people no longer have a sense of civic duty,’ said a Seattle man who was part of Harwood’s conversations, ‘but it’s that they don’t have a sense of power.” (Hightower 276) And what could be any more contrary to the beliefs of the Anti-Federalists. The people are apathetic towards their government not because they are complacent, but rather, because they are merely disempowered by the elected officials. The government lacks a responsibility to the people, it forces people to be obedient to the laws and government, it does nothing to promote a love of liberty, independence, or personal freedom, and time and time again, individual liberty is sacrificed for the glory of the nation. When the government fails to represent these key tenets of what politics should be, then it is only obvious that the citizenry will feel completely detached from their politicians and will not have any desire to concern themselves with the political process. What Hightower does, through his examples given here and elsewhere throughout the book, is to show the American people how a return to the ideas of the Anti-Federalists would benefit the nation on political, social, and economic levels. His use of talking about CEO’s merely goes to show that Americans have become disenfranchised with the idea of retaining power, and instead are willing to give it away to politicians and CEO’s alike. Like the Anti-Federalists, Hightower thinks that it is about time that the American people demand that their government be held accountable to them, and not vice versa. Should the American government adopt the basic principles that the Anti-Federalists supported, the inequalities and disparities that Hightower talks about in his book would be lessened. Until then, we as Anti-Federalists are glad we have a dedicated individual like Jim Hightower on our side keeping the Anti-Federalist message alive. And as Anti-Federalists, it is our hope that the words that Jim Hightower writes will make that shift towards an America that embraces Anti-Federalism more palpable and expedient.  |
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