U.S.A., 2020 For the first

time since the founding of our nation, Americans are living under a dictatorship.

Such dramatic shifts in government

don't happen overnight, and it's impossible to point to any one event

that brought about the demise of our constitutional republic, but many

experts point to the presidential election at the turn of the century

as a major contributing factor.

That was when justices for

the Florida Supreme Court elected to ignore the rule of law and rendered

a ruling based solely on their personal feelings.

"The right of the people

to cast their ballots overshadows all other considerations," they

said. Not stated, but definitely understood, was that "all other

considerations" included the laws of Florida and the U.S. Constitution.

It didn't seem like much at

the time. In fact, it sounded downright democratic.

But it set a precedent that

was like a snowball tossed onto a loose snow bank in avalanche country.

As predicted, President Gore

was unable to accomplish much administratively during his presidency.

Congress was evenly divided, the nation was evenly divided, and his four

years in office were mired in gridlock. But he did appoint four U.S. Supreme

Court justices, justices who, like those in Florida, believed it was their

duty to effect social change, not simply to interpret laws and the constitution.

And so, although radical gun

control laws never were passed, presidents who followed Gore used their

executive powers to take guns from citizens following a series of mass

shootings, and the courts backed them up, using words like: "Reducing

the number of guns in our society is of paramount importance, overshadowing

all other considerations."

The courts also began to exert

influence in other areas. The federal government took over whole categories

of industry following a series of environmental lawsuits, and the government

took over health care as well as justices opined that we should not trust

our health care to the whims of private companies.

Union disputes also resulted

in radical change, as major corporations were dissolved and the companies

involved turned over to ownership of the workers.

This resulted in widespread

violence as rival unions competed for business in a market in which high

taxes reduced consumer demand considerably.

High taxes tightened Americans'

wallets, and the resulting slow economy brought about less revenue for

the government, not more. All government programs, including the military,

suffered.

And our weakened military faced

crisis after crisis overseas.

It was only a matter of time

before a president felt forced to declare martial law and suspend elections,

"to maintain stability in these troubled times," she said. With

90 percent of our standing armed forces engaged in conflicts abroad, her

elite force of loyal body guards and border patrols were more than adequate

to enforce her orders.

After a year of martial law,

she declared herself president for life, invoking the fear that changing

presidents would spark more unrest.

And the Supreme Court backed

her up. Again, the need to maintain stability overshadowed all other considerations,

including the law and the constitution and the old-fashioned idea of freedom.

"Security" had become the cry of the people, not "freedom."

And so it was that the great

experiment that started when a brave man penned the words "We the

people" ended not with a bang but with a whimper.

It was a nice try.