Since my last post about the letter to Macron from French Generals warning of a possible civil war if the ruling elite in France didn’t get their act together, there’s been a second letter, this one from anonymous soldiers serving in the ranks, which backs the Generals’ letter. It’s not known how significant this second letter might be. Does it indicate widespread support in the army for the first letter? Or is it simply a handful of malcontents voicing their discontent? Given, however, that 58% of the French population supports the positions advanced in the first letter, I don’t think we’d be going out on a limb to suggest that at least 58% of the military shares the views and sentiments expressed in that letter as well.
On the heels of these letters from the French military warning of the dire condition of their country, a letter was published by retired American Generals and Admirals warning about the rise of the radical left in America and questioning Biden’s fitness for office. The American mainstream press, which consists largely of the Ruling Elite's chronic lickspittles, has claimed (among other dubious assertions) that the letter advances conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being “stolen.” This is not a strictly honest (what else is new?). The authors of the letter of course make no such allegations. You’ll find nothing in the missive about Dominion’s voting machines or the alleged large “dumps'' of pro-Biden ballots in the wee hours of the morning. Instead, the letter merely questions the integrity of the election process itself—which is not a conspiracy theory, but simply a call for preventive measures against corruption in the voting process (e.g., voting ID and promptly investigating irregularities, etc.). While there’s no evidence that the 2020 election was “stolen,” there is evidence (or at least allegations) of possible irregularities which were never properly investigated. While these irregularities, assuming they existed, would not have affected the ultimate outcome of the election, if they actually occurred (which is at least possible) they still constitute something of a scandal, and efforts should be made to prevent them from happening in the future. Election irregularities raise the spectre that our election is not entirely fair, which can seriously undermine the whole raison d’etre of Democracy. We have democratic elections not to determine the will of “the people” (there is no such singular “will of the people,” but multiple wills, many of which are in conflict), but to figure out how to come to collective decisions necessary for the preservation of the social order. Democracy is a game we play because the alternative (rule of the strongest) can lead to dangerous levels of tyranny and violence. But the democratic game must be played fairly, with all parties observing the agreed upon rules (i.e., following the Constitution). Winning is less important than following these rules because there are greater issues at stake than always getting one's way. If one side insists on gaining an advantage through cheating, at some point the other side is going to lose interest in playing; and that’s when a threat of a civil war or a coup or a breakdown in civil society becomes very real.
