The Question Never Asked

Almost thirty years ago, in the throes of a near nervous breakdown, I went to a psychiatrist. One day, in the course of several thousand dollars worth of visits, we discussed Adult ADHD. After confirming my status as the King of Adult ADHD, we had a general discussion of the syndrome. The doctor told me that real ADHD,  not the bad behavior syndrome that is frequently  misdiagnosed as ADHD or ADD, is almost unheard of in Europe. I asked him why. He explained that most of the ADHD kind came to this country in the early days. P.T. Barnum said that Americans were more curious than other people because only the most curious would have braved the odds to come to this country. I agree with both Barnum and the shrink. The culture of those ADHD types who came to this country in the early days still permeates our culture today.

This has impacted the history of our country to a great degree. How, you might ask. Here's an insight into a process rarely discussed. It concerns the decision making process in our nation's history.

Americans, especially today, like to brag that we analyze situations thoroughly before making decisions. We try to consider all of the possibilities before acting. But in that process, there is a question never asked. The question is simple, "Then what?" Yes, that's it. Never asked, never answered.

Here's my first example. We decided that we would be better off without British rule. We formed the Continental Congress. We formed an army and a navy. We declared our independence so that we could form a new nation. We won the war. But no one had asked "Then What?" So we struggled with the Articles of Confederation for several years before the Constitution was written. We were sure that would clear the confusion. No one asked, "Then What?" So we have spent the last 228 years trying to understand what phrases like  "the right to bear arms" actually mean.

In 1812 we declared war on the British. No one asked "Then what?". We got our butts kicked and Washington was sacked by the British. Only a victory by Jackson after the war ended made the conflict historically palatable.

We made war on Mexico because no one asked "Then what?" They are all coming here today in some perverted kind of revenge.

In 1860, the idea of secession exploded without a discussion of "Then What?" Lincoln responded with an invasion of the Southern states without even a nod to "Then What?" Lincoln abrogated the Constitution, shut down newspapers, and threatened to arrest Supreme Court justices, all without any question of "Then What?"

In 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in certain areas. I am certain that "Then What?" never crossed Lincoln's mind. This resulted in the freedom of millions of enslaved people. It also resulted in 100 years of Jim Crow laws, the destruction of the economy in the southern states, extreme poverty conditions for both whites and blacks, and societal problems that still plague us today.

After the Civil War and Lincoln's death, the Radical Republicans took over "Reconstruction". They were unable to even spell "Then What?", much less ask the question. The result of this is a distrust of the federal government and a hatred for federal regulations that still runs rampant in the South today. The South is the only region of the country to have been under military occupation since we gained freedom from the British.

In World War 1, Wilson failed to ask the question. Congress had no interest in asking the question and we ended up being on the winning side of part one in what became a two part event. "What then?" There was a twenty year intermission while Germany rebuilt the theater and then restarted the show. Part 2 was guaranteed to happen based on a Treaty of Versailles after Part One that was reminiscent of the Radical Republicans work after the Civil War.

In World War 2 history, the United States did not commit one of history's biggest mistakes, Japan did. Japan decided that a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor was a good idea. Obviously, "Then What?" does not translate into Japanese.

Following Pearl Harbor, we not only declared war on Japan, we added Germany and Italy. Missing in action was the question, "Then What?" The answer turned out to be a  Europe being divided into two parts for more than forty years.

We lost more than 50,000 Americans in Vietnam in our nation's second longest military conflict. "Then what?" Today, we buy cheap shoes and textiles made in Vietnam.

In the 1960's, Lyndon Johnson and the Federal Government declared a "War on Poverty". "Then what?" Trillions of dollars later, government social engineering has destroyed the family unit in the black community and endangered it in other communities. Plantations have been replaced by housing projects and working the fields has been replaced by voting a straight Democrat ticket. We pay people not to work and wonder why job openings go unfilled.

The "War on Drugs" has been almost as tragic as the poverty debacle. "Then What?" The Executive Branch and the Congress, with several assists from the Supreme Court have abrogated the Constitution. The money in your pocket, according to the courts, can now commit a crime. It's not a War on Drugs, it's a war on our constitutional rights. The nation can survive a drug crisis, we can't make it without The Constitution.

More than fifteen years ago, we went to war in Afghanistan. Did no one study the experience of the Soviet Union there? Let's go kill some terrorists! "Then what?" In Afghanistan, we are propping up a government that enables people to grow drugs that we will later have to deal with on our shores. Does any of this make sense?

In closing this rather lengthy rant, it is not just the government that fails to ask the question. Many private groups fail to ask "Then What?" Yesterday in Boston, 40,000 people marched in opposition to a Free Speech rally. Are you serious? Then What??