Appoint For Us a King By Derek Gilbert - June 29, 2010        Tweet

Progressives howled about abuses of power by the Bush administration. In a 2006 speech, Al Gore asked this question:

If the president has the inherent authority to eavesdrop on American citizens without a warrant, imprison American citizens on his own declaration, kidnap and torture, then what can't he do?¹

Four years later, not quite 18 months into the Obama presidency, the answer is clear: not a single thing under the sun.

In a development little noticed by the American public, President Obama's subordinates have quietly let it be known that he reserves the right to have American citizens overseas assassinated.

Not imprisoned. Not spied upon without a warrant. Killed in cold blood with no oversight whatsoever.²

But don't worry; there's no need for oversight. We have the assurance of the White House that only people who really need killin' are on The List.

The silence of progressives on this issue is understandable. It's always hard to admit a mistake.

What's puzzling is the silence from the right. Led by icons in the media like Rush, Beck, and Hannity, a groundswell of opposition to intrusive federal government spawned the tea party movement, which has attacked the president on health care reform, corporate bailouts, immigration policy, and cap-and-trade--but not on the policy of assassinating American citizens.

This history of the United States displays some disturbing parallels with that of the ancient Hebrews. God gave his chosen people a representative government, controlled at the local level by village elders. Above them sat tribal chiefs, and for problems that affected all of Jacob's descendants, there were the judges like Samson, Eli, and Samuel.

But that wasn't good enough. The people demanded that Samuel give them a king. God consented, but not before He warned Israel that they'd rue the day:

"This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day." (I Samuel 8:11-19)

Looking back about 3,000 years, giving up only 10% to the government looks like a pretty good deal. As for the rest, well, the U.S. government is already the largest landowner in the country, holding title to about a third of the acreage within our borders.

And being the king's servants? While it's true that the president can't conscript us to slave away in the White House kitchens, our chief executives have, in recent years, claimed the power to listen to our phone calls, read our email, and even toss us in jail without a warrant--and then hold us indefinitely without charge. Even the writ of habeas corpus, which the framers of the Constitution considered so important that it was included in the body of the document rather than being reserved for the Bill of Rights, can be suspended in the interest of fighting the never-ending War of Terror.

Progressives complained under George W. Bush, but conservatives--including many Christians--argued that such steps were necessary because "freedom isn't free".

Much like the ancient Hebrews, who refused to listen to the Lord's warning: "No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

In other words, Lord, you're really great and everything, but if it's all the same, we prefer a king who'll take our sons, daughters, flocks, and lands, because he can save us from those Philistine terrorists!

President Obama has taken the power of the office farther than President Bush ever dreamed, and progressives have grown hypocritically silent. Al Gore thundered in that 2006 speech that an unrestrained Executive Branch might someday "license summary execution".  Mr. Gore has apparently lost his voice now that President Obama is actually doing it.

But more disturbing is that Republicans have also been quiet about the president's hit list. The assassination program isn't a secret, so one must assume that bashing President Obama on health care, immigration policy, or the BP oil spill is more important to the GOP's leadership than a president who can have American citizens assassinated at will.

Why?  Republicans are evidently more interested in getting their own hands on that unrestrained power than in protecting us from it. And like the ancient Hebrews, we 21^st century Americans have traded our God-given freedom to a ruling class for the illusion of security.

Derek P. Gilbert co-hosts a weekly Internet talk show, P.I.D. Radio, with his wife, author Sharon K. Gilbert, and hosts A View From the Bunker, a weekly interview program.  He previously hosted The Drive, the #1-rated afternoon radio talk show in Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri.  His published novels are Iron Dragons and The God Conspiracy.

Email Derek at derek at peeringintodarkness dot com. His website is www.derekpgilbert.com.