How Did We Get from There to Here?

The Founding Fathers Were Incorrect About American Democracy

By Myron Gananian (June 2025)

Who amongst us knows the very first word of the Declaration of Independence? How many have read the Federalist Papers, or who were their authors? Who is aware of Washington’s Farewell Address? The likely painful answer is that very few do. This is neither an idle question nor one to cast aspersions. These documents are not just a collection of lofty and noble words, they represent our birthright, our nascence. They are our Birth Certificates. They truly gave birth to something that had never happened in the world’s history, and is unlikely to ever take place again. In a very short time, with a revolutionary war lasting just a decade, with no post-war bloodshed, our Founders created something that in other parts of the world took untold numbers of years and endless bloodshed to achieve. As just one of many examples, the several dozen German territories existed for over a thousand years before unification into the nation known as Germany. Our birthing created a Nation, not a Country. D.W. Griffith’s 1916 film, Birth of a Nation, though dealing with a different era, was not titled Birth of a Country. A country can be considered a Gift From God. Its inhabitants deserving little credit for its existence.  A country is defined by its administrative and geographic characteristics, while a nation, on the other hand, is very much more: A large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language inhabiting a particular country or territory. Is that what we have now? The concept of nationhood has been greatly diminished in our population, with even the usage of the word far less now than in 1800.

The idea of Nationhood is actually not currently widely acceptable since it invokes giving as well as taking. This alteration is not the same as a lack of patriotism, which is insufficient alone to satisfy the feedstock required by a thriving and successful nation. The citizen, in addition to the obligation of fulfilling his responsibilities to family, church, and school, has a superior one to the nation. This obligation is not at the expense of the others. Its superior position arises because it is disregarded at peril to every citizen of the nation. Weakening the integrity of a nation in any manner is a societal crime, not a personal one.

From the previous primacy of our nation, we now find ourselves where the individual is by far the recipient of greater focus and defense. This focus diminishing that which is obligated to the nation. This alteration has many malicious consequences, so we must appreciate how this amazing nation arrived at this troublesome time, where we all feel apprehensive, where we are at each other’s throats, and even where families are disjointed due to differing politics.

Democracy, as envisioned by our Founders, contained in its essence the risk of mob rule, even anarchy, as well as the compromise of minority rights. Their slogan to save Democracy was, Majority Rule With Protection of Minority Rights, to be guaranteed by a balance of power and the Bill of Rights. Currently, it is-Minority Rule And The Hell With Majority Rights, with the minority being reduced to each individual. What they devised did indeed prevent mob rule, though no one, not even they, could foresee what the long-term devolution of Democracy would produce. Our form of Democracy, in its original conception, meant the protection of the people against the excesses of government, at all costs. It was then, unfortunately, and to our great dismay, a very easy alteration for the focus to shift from the entity of the entire populace to the individual. This was not what the Founding Fathers envisioned.

How, then, did social changes enhance this unforeseen shift? Soon after the Civil War, there occurred a profound change from the certainty and clarity of national thought to one of doubt, questioning and querulousness, uncertainty, and even less predictability about the future. A virtually direct consequence of the extreme dislocation during and after the war. This profound alteration and its consequences are beautifully outlined in Louis Menand’s The Metaphysical Club. Thus began the Progressive Era, accelerated later by Quantum Mechanics with its random and uncertainty principles. Now imbued with a sense of floundering, drifting, and lack of the former supportive and comforting touchstones, our populace was understandably placed in a defensive posture, not unlike a fortress mentality for individuals. Each within his protective walls. This very crucial alteration placed the individual in an attitude never before seen in any society, in that the individual needed succor, protection, and defense against this splintering of society that made him feel adrift, alone, uncared for, and, probably worst of all, isolated. Consequently, he needed protection from fellow citizens since so many who formerly believed in “One For All” now felt “None For All”. In all previous societies the populace feared the government, as did we at first. But now, instead of fearing the government, it became ever more not only the source of our protection, but in becoming so, it lost the dedication of its citizenry as a critical entity constantly needing the focus and actions of its people for its survival. The fear of the government was displaced by a condition even more malignant, the sense of being alone and being threatened by others. The anxiety toward a dangerous government was replaced by a servitude to it. It has become the path of little resistance to view the government as the source of all help as the usual bedrocks of support fade; as mentioned, the church, family, and school. Of the two fears with which we are born, the fear of abandonment is not only never lost but is the one that results in the most severe and permanent psychic misery. This misery and the very efforts to mitigate it are very often the cause of even greater dislocation. The sense of being abandoned occurs not only in an individual but also has its analog in large segments of society.

To unify all these disparate thoughts, it might be best to describe the current situation or position of a goodly portion of our society, but especially our youth, as feeling as though they are the center of the universe, the focus of all attention. Attention, or at least the demand for it, and lots of it, is the antidote to abandonment. What is worse, and likely the main reason for a disaffected youth, is that once having had attention, one cannot do without it. It is an addiction by any definition, and worst of all, at any cost.

There are innumerable causes and consequences of placing one in the center of the universe. Let us consider some, in no order of importance.

Parenting by direction and not by example. This involves unnecessary and excessive attention on the child and results in a sense of unjustified importance. This is not to be confused with loving, which has no upper limit. The underlying parental motive is the effort to retain control over the child. This has been enhanced by threats to the integrity of the family.

Suicides rank high as an expression of disaffection and isolation. The Army has been tracking suicides since 1843, so there is considerable data. Since 2006 there has been a surge in both US Army and civilian suicides, with the rates of each rising in tandem. Very telling statistics show that rates of both decrease during wars. Also telling is that the rate of Army suicides during the entire Civil War was less than the annual rate since 2001. A 2013 DOD report concluded that underlying mental issues and not combat were the cause of military suicide. Is it mental issues or a societal issue from which everything is topsy-turvy?

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that something is occurring in our society apart from war and mental disease that is troubling a significant portion of our citizens, something recent and different. I posit that isolation and disaffection are the common causes.

Suicide in the young shares the same inciting influences, but in addition is exacerbated by the exposures of our youth to influences beyond the control of either they or their parents. The irresistible attraction of the peer group, taking them away from more mature and stable influences, beginning even in preschool, is a huge factor in this disaffection. The cost of early socialization is alienation from family, society, and our history. Read Hold Onto Your Kids, by Gabor Mate. Coupled to this, of course, is the influence of social media. All the more so when it is incessant as it so often is due to its strong addictive nature. It may contribute to suicide since the youth is not only exposed to hurtful personal attacks but also places him at the locus of attention, or rather, pseudo-attention. Often, these attacks, such as sextortion or demeaning and belittling comments, come from those seeking validation by seeming above others by using criticism of others. Being the center of attention or considering oneself as the center of the universe is not akin to our sun being the center of our universe. The sun is centrifugal; it gives life to us all, whereas regarding yourself as the center of the universe is centripetal, with all energy and attention going toward you. There cannot be multiple centers of the universe, only one. And it is a very lonely place with the attention turned off. Everything goes dark.

Why are children killing children? Why are children killing their parents? Why are 11-year-olds in gangs, already drug and pornography addicted? Why is there so much road rage? Why any domestic violence? Why are protests turning violent? Why has the homicide rate gone from the lowest rate in decades in 2014 to a doubling by 2021? Why do so many young girls need Empowerment? Why is it fashionable to destroy property?  Why are we pushed off subway platforms?  Even psychotics are not immune to the contagion in the rest of society. A recent Rutgers University poll concluded that 55% of Liberals felt “somewhat justified” to kill President Trump. Why kill police, why eliminate ICE, why eliminate our borders? These are undisguised policies of either the government or protest groups. Why the increase in tattoos and piercings? Why so much purple hair? Why so many personal liability and injury suits? Hot coffee in the crotch, really? These are not invidious questions. Their validity is based on the fact that they represent significant change. It is indisputable that the response to these questions was much less, if they even took place at all, several decades ago. They are genuine queries that need asking. The answers to these questions will reveal that our populace’s energies are directed inward and not to the benefit of others or toward the greater good.

As at the beginning of this piece, these are not idle questions, for they have a common cause. To repeat: disaffection, isolation, loneliness, drifting, purposelessness, and indifference, all leading to any technique, desperate or outlandish, to be recognized as a person. Please recognize my existence. I’m afraid of being alone. Please hold my hand. Please validate me. From the instant of our first breath we crave attachment and connection. Lacking them, our soul shrivels and lashes out.

Each individual must be whole unto himself, but this self-validation is insufficient; it lacks the comfort provided by the security which can come only by an unshakable connection with someone or something outside of yourself. Why do military personnel feel empty on leaving the service, whether combat or non-combat? Being part of a small unit, such as a squad, is all one needs. Precious little is needed to satisfy the hunger for belonging, but demanding and feeling entitled to it often places it beyond reach. As mentioned, maladaptive.

Our Nation, though the largest entity of our lives, larger even than our government, because of its size and associated significance, is alone placed to counter our wayward ways.

I cannot do without my Nation, but my Nation can do without me.

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Myron Gananian is a retired physician living in California.

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