The last post comparing America to a car made sense so why not expand on it. We’ve got the brake pedal and the pas pedal, what else do we need? Steering wheel? If we keep the Oxford Dictionary definition of conservative in mind, we should start from the beginning of America, its founding.
Our ancestors came in boats, unless you are a Native American, and movement back or forward, and speed were controlled by Mother Nature: wind, tides, and currents. Soon, we used horses and wagons to move around the new land and they were slow. But progress was made (by Progressives?) and soon we had colonies all over the East Coast. That meant we needed a way to progress (Again, Progressives?) to lands farther inland. It was our Manifest Destiny (Google it, an interesting political party was responsible). Boats were used, first, going down rivers, up creeks, across lakes, and eventually floating inland on man-made canals (Erie Canal, google) connecting the lakes and rivers to larger rivers and, ultimately the oceans and the the world.
Shortly after, the locomotive and the railroads changed everything. Railroad track was laid all over the new country and became the fasted, best way to move goods and people until the turn of the 19th century when in 1896 Henry Ford built his Quadracycle. The rest is history, and we finally get our metaphoric vehicle for this post.
Much like early government, the car was nothing special, just basic transportation: engine, wheels, and a tiller instead of a steering wheel. Naturally, The Quadracycle did not have brakes. It didn’t occur to Ford he would need to stop. We take that for granted, now. And no gas pedal, it had a “throttle”. Symbolically, the Quadracycle and and our new government were both committed to going forward at safe, reasonable speeds, stopping only when throttled down, or colliding with something, or running out of gas. A 110-year-old government is still new, still learning, and still waiting for new ideas, as well. In 1903, Ford produced the Model A with the standard set of control, brakes, gas, and steering wheel.
The next century of car development followed closely the history of America’s government development as both gained accessories/additions for added safety, comfort, and style. Cars got bigger, faster, and more complex. The Federal Government did the same. In 1903 there were 10,125 government workers in three Departments with most in the newly formed (addition?) Commerce Department. The 1903 Model A did not have a cab but our government had three departments.
In 2025, cars are living spaces, with radios, heated seats, GPS, internet service, coffee warmers, and can even drive themselves. Some are as big as a small apartment with engines the size of the Model A. The car has come a long way from the base priced Model A at $385, to cars so complex and powerful they are made to your liking for whatever price you can afford. Inflation? Imagine the car you get for $385, now.
To keep pace with the car, our federal government grew to 14 Departments with 2.4 million employees.
Do we need a government that big and complex? Do we need cars that big and complex? Does anyone really want a Model A 1903 government (or car) in the 21st century?
Would cars be so big if no one wanted them? Would government be so big if no one wanted it? They do the same thing: go forward, backward, stop, and make life safer, and easier. If you care to argue government makes things harder, okay but how much harder is life with millions of cars running over millions of miles of road, causing accidents, pollution, and demanding to be fed by gas and oil sucked from the ground? In an ironic twist, the government and cars are now partners in safety, efficiency, and production.
The metaphoric point? Cars run on roads and bridges and under tunnels, all under the watch full eyes of several government Departments. But even auto-driving cars still have standard stop, start, and go controls, (progressive and conservative) just in case. Do we still have those “built-in” to our government?
Yes.
Are we in danger of losing them in 2025?
Yes.
