“We can bear neither our diseases nor their remedies."
So shrugged the ancient historian Livy (59 B.C.-17 A.D.) of the long decline of Roman national character that, in his age, finally ended the Roman Republic.
Like a patient whose medicine proves worse than the disease, Livy lamented that the Romans knew that they had become corrupt and lawless.
But the very contemplation of the hard medicine needed for restoration -- and the furious reaction that would meet the remedy -- made it impossible to save the patient.
America is nearing such an impasse.
We know that no state can long exist after opening its borders to over 7 million illegal aliens, requiring neither background checks nor legality.
The recent murder of a Georgia female jogger by an illegal alien and the savage beating of New York policemen by similar others hardly merit media attention.
Everyone knows that neither new appropriations nor new laws are needed to secure the border as it was in 2020.
Instead, we could just stop suicidal catch-and-release, deport lawbreakers, privilege the legal over the illegal immigrant, demand would-be refugees apply for asylum first in their native countries, finish the border wall, and pressure Mexico to stop undermining the territorial integrity of its northern neighbor.
But then we shrug, "We can't do that" -- paralyzed in fear of being smeared as "xenophobic," "nativist," or "racist."
So this generation apparently feels that it can endure the collateral damage of daily assaults on American citizens, the near bankruptcy of our cities, and 100,000 fentanyl deaths per year -- but certainly not the idea that it is somehow not politically correct or compassionate.
The same is true of the $35 trillion debt, now costing more than $1 trillion a year in interest payments -- and growing. We all know it is unsustainable. Americans understand it will eventually lead either to destructive hyperinflation, suicidal renunciation of federal debt, or confiscation of private savings.
Yet we ignore the reckless spending and keep borrowing well over $1 trillion a year. Apparently, our generation prefers being praised as "virtuous" and "caring." So it leaves the next generation to be smeared as "cruel" and "unfair" when it is forced to cut federal entitlements and bloated government or face civilizational collapse.
The crime epidemic is also similar. Everyone accepts that no society can long endure quasi-legalized shoplifting or green-lighting smash-and-grabbers and carjackers to be released without bail.
But we assume that such a civilizational implosion will never reach our own sanctuary neighborhoods or safe places of work -- at least not yet.
We also know that restoring deterrence by arresting, convicting, and jailing repeat felons will return safety to our streets.
But again, we fear even more that advocating "law and order" will earn slanders like "racist" or "reactionary."
Ditto the homeless. In an age of self-congratulation and hyper-environmentalism, we know that a million homeless defecating, urinating, injecting, and assaulting on our downtown sidewalks and storefronts is medieval.
We know that it is illegal to camp out on the street and publicly harass citizens or relieve oneself in public.
And we know the cure lies in building and staffing more mental institutions and providing areas far from public spaces where the homeless can find shelter, sanitation, and medical care.
But the very idea of removing anyone from his accustomed sidewalk spot, or the notion of the use of force to transport the mentally ill to proper and humane facilities, terrifies us.
So we walk around, step over, and ignore those on the street.
Is the assumption that the odds of being assaulted or sickened acceptable? Or do we just not wish to learn where the flotsam, jetsam, and human offal of the street end up?
Most accept that had former President Donald Trump just not run for president in 2024 or was a man of the left, he would not now be facing four different felony court cases.
Most accept that three of the four prosecutors have either in advance promised to get Trump or have proved grossly unethical.
Most know it is wrong to try to remove a leading presidential candidate from state ballots.
Yet many shrug that this new weaponization of America's legal system is the flamboyant Trump's own problem, not their own. So they ignore the third worldization of our political system, which they quietly acknowledge is otherwise leading us to a Venezuela-like mess.
The paralysis of American society extends to our foreign policy as well. We deplore the terrorism of Iran and its thuggish surrogates. But we fear more the nasty, costly business of stopping its aggression.
Societies do not always collapse from a lack of wealth, invasion, or natural catastrophes.
Most often, they know what is destroying them. But they are so paralyzed by their fear that the road to salvation becomes too painful to even contemplate.
So they implode gradually, then suddenly.
Oh America, when you go to buy that $6.20 morning coffee you will need to "borrow" $1.75 to pay for it.
Thank God you have an unlimited credit card. But your credit card balance is now an eye-popping $34 trillion, the U.S. national debt. America, this is troubling. To "borrow" a metaphor, if the border is in a crisis (a cold) our financial house has pneumonia. We must address both, the former immediately.
President Joe Biden and the Democrats, through their failure to recognize a clear invasion and allowing illegal immigrants to rapidly increase our debt, are making it worse.
Biden has mastered the game of politics. He has been in the "game" for over 50 years. He has said, "I could close the border now," if he got what he wanted in exchange. But that is bargaining with our safety. He wants to help other countries protect their borders before making U.S. borders secure.
Immediately after taking office, Biden reversed policies at the border that have been effective. He has refused to use executive orders and/or the military to secure our borders. This would both protect the American people from people harboring ill will toward America and help save America financially. Instead, Biden and the Democrats are throwing gasoline on the fire known as the financial instability of America.
Using just a tiny portion of our nearly $1 trillion National Defense Appropriations to truly protect America in an old-fashioned manner by protecting our borders is the prudent way to start.
During the Biden Administration, an unprecedented 13 million unwanted illegal immigrants have crossed or attempted to cross into America with millions whose whereabouts are unknown. This is more than the equivalent of all the people in New England hurriedly packing up and crossing over into New York State. Democrats would not call that an invasion, however. Former President Donald Trump correctly did so. And so did the majority of Americans when asked in recent polls.
"But they have no weapons," one could argue. I fervently disagree. If you are clever, you use unconventional weapons.
Weapons change over time. We have new weapons for new times. The use of sanctions and the internet can be weaponized. Today, illegal immigrants are being used as weapons.
Of late, many of the illegals arriving in America have been Russians, Chinese, and thousands from around the world, thanks partially to flights arranged by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who is no friend of America.
The Republican-proposed House Bill HR 1 failed to even get a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and the so-called "bipartisan bill" - Senator Mitch McConnell's gift to Biden - was such a pathetic measure it failed to even get a vote in the Republican-controlled House. While Biden and Democrats are satisfied to blame Republicans, obviously there is much more work to be done on immigration reform.
But "like a good plumber," we must stop the flow of water (people) before we can fix the pipes (immigration reform). Protecting America and immigration laws are two separate subjects. The Democrats' obfuscations on this matter are potentially nefarious and to put it mildly, disingenuous.
Democrats, before there was asylum, before there were immigration laws, there was a document known as the U.S. Constitution. Biden is sworn to uphold it. The Constitution clearly states that "the United States must protect each state from an invasion." Biden and Democrats, stop obfuscating the issue.
Cities and states must balance their budgets (some have rainy-day funds). Draconian methods must be used to pay for the surge of illegal immigrants from the border. The massive numbers of migrants represent a huge cost to states. Just like the massive number of invaders represented the same for the Romans, before the fall of the Roman Empire.
Massachusetts is seeking help from, you guessed it, Uncle Sam. They want the federal government to step in and pay the costs linked to the surge in migrants.
The American people, if given a choice, would not fork over a single penny in increased taxes to pay for those who have invaded America. Biden and the Democrats know that. It would be political suicide for the Democrats. So, they have to circumvent matters. Their warped solution is to use an already bloated Medicaid fund.
Democrats are willing to dig us deeper into a financial hole for some undisclosed reason.
When the Medicaid Bill became law in the 1960s (healthcare for the indigent), it was intended for Americans, not invaders.
After a 10% increase in 2022, we had more than $800 billion in Medicaid expenses, soon to be a trillion dollars of a $6+ trillion overall budget expense.
Let us not forget that we must make interest payments on our $34 trillion national debt as both the debt and interest payments on that debt are rapidly increasing.
Democrats and Biden are pushing America into a financial corner. Illegals flooding America can be America's Achilles' heel.
To add insult to injury, Biden recently went to the Mexican border and acted like Emperor Nero. While Rome was burning, Nero allegedly enjoyed his favorite pleasure, playing the fiddle. Biden, who ostensibly went to the border to address the migrant crisis, spent precious time talking about his favorite topic, "climate change."
Will someone tell Biden that talking about "climate change" during this crisis is like the captain of the Titanic spending time planning a wedding hours after spotting icebergs ahead? The wedding (climate change) may not matter.
So, as you finish that cup of coffee ask yourself, America, how long can you continue doing this - financially going in the wrong direction?
As Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell said recently, "It is unsustainable."
Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut's 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England's first Black member of the House. Host: podcast "We Speak Frankly." Author: "With God, For God, and For Country." @GaryFranks
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