Tag Archives: authoritarianism

Government “of the people” (Gary Krenz)

Posted on November 1, 2026 by gdkrenz

In previous posts we have discussed Lincoln’s “government for the people” (here), where the people are the beneficiaries of the government’s actions, and “government by the people” (here and here), where the people are the agents of the government’s actions. … Continue reading →

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Government “by the people”(I) (Gary Krenz)

Posted on September 24, 2026 by gdkrenz

I’d like to continue our meditation on Lincoln’s “formula for democracy” in the Gettysburg Address, “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” The prior posts in this series are here and here. We’re looking at the formula … Continue reading →

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Corruption and Corruption (Gary Krenz)

Posted on September 22, 2026 by gdkrenz

For good reason, governmental corruption is much in the news now. The level of graft in the Trump Administration has reached astounding levels (I posted a brief overview a couple of months ago, and of course it has only grown since). A … Continue reading →

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Government “for the people” (Gary Krenz)

Posted on September 14, 2026 by gdkrenz

As I mentioned here, I am reflecting on “government of the people, by the people, for the people” as a formula to understand democracy. We will take the phrases in reverse order. So let’s begin: “government for the people.” This phrase … Continue reading →

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Why democracy? (Gary Krenz)

Posted on September 5, 2026 by gdkrenz

A refrain that we often hear is along the lines of: most people are not motivated by appeals to save our democracy; the concept is too abstract; people are focused on bread-and-butter issues; maybe they can get exercised about the loss … Continue reading →

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Chaos and Resolve (Gary Krenz)

Posted on September 3, 2026 by gdkrenz

It is hard to imagine more chaos than we in the US face right now — though I fear we will find out what more is like. Certainly chaos as a function of time has had an upward slope. Trump’s … Continue reading →

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“You’ll Miss the Overall” (Gary Krenz)

Posted on July 17, 2026 by gdkrenz

When I was in junior high and high school I was, believe it or not, quite conservative. I devoured National Review, I was a fan of William F. Buckley, even more of Garry Wills and Jeffrey Hart, and I campaigned for … Continue reading →

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The State of America (Gary Krenz)

Posted on July 4, 2026 by gdkrenz

Photo of Lincoln’s First Inauguration Well, here we are. We are sad, we are afraid, we are determined, we are hopeful, and we do not know what the future holds. But, here we are, and we have good reasons to … Continue reading →

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Two visions of citizenship

Posted on July 2, 2026 by gdkrenz

As you know, the Supreme Court has rejected Trump’s Executive Order seeking to end birthright citizenship. This is the good news. The bad news is that the decision was basically 5-1-3, or more accurately, from the standpoint of the basic constitutional principle, … Continue reading →

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Revolution and Counterrevolution

Posted on July 1, 2026 by gdkrenz

We are, of course, about to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution of 1776. I say “commemorate” rather than “celebrate” because it is not clear what sort of celebration could be called for at … Continue reading →

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