Which of the following presidential views about government most closely reflect your own? What do your choices tell you about your experiences with government?

The following come from Scott Galloway’s book, “Adrift: America in a 100 Charts”.

1) “The government is us. We are the government, you and I.” – Teddy Roosevelt, 1902

2) “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us.” – FDR, 1938

3) “The federal government is the people, and the budget is a reflection of their need.” – JFK, 1963

4) “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” – Ronald Reagan, 1986

5) “The era of big government is over… Our federal government today is the smallest it has been in 30 years, and it’s getting smaller every day.” – Bill Clinton, 1996

I taught U.S. history for over 44 years. When I examine these statements, they tell me how attitudes have evolved over time. When Teddy Roosevelt was president (1901 – 1909), America was in the midst of the “Gilded Age” and Big Business titans such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and others controlled the federal government through the use of bribery and political favors.

T. R. believed the people had to team up with the president to fight against these powerful financial and industrial magnates. Only in uniting could America rein in their capitalist and monopolistic greed.

T.R.’s fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, became president after the collapse of the stock market in 1929. The resulting Great Depression threw up to a third of the nation’s workers out of their jobs, their homes and their sense of security. F.D.R. took the same approach that T.R. used: the government is your rescuer, not your enemy.

John F. Kennedy (president from 1961 – 1963) followed in T.R. and F.D.R.’s perception that the government’s purpose was to serve the people. Government’s role was to benefit all the people in the nation. Out of this era came the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act of 1964 and 1965.

Ronald Reagan (president from 1981 – 1989), on the other hand, reflected a more suspicious libertarian view toward government. Instead of the government being there to help its citizens, the government was the problem: Those who worked for the government were out to serve themselves. Government was to be viewed with suspicion and distrust. The smaller the government, the better off the nation would be.

Reagan’s view is much like Milton’s Friedman’s “neo-liberal” (actually conservative) view that freedom through lightly regulated capitalism was the solution to America’s ills, not the government.

Friedman’s and Reagan’s views led this nation to a time of great income inequality.

Bill Clinton’s comments reflect the state of government as he saw it in the 1990s. Neither side had the corner on virtue. Clinton chose what he called the “Third Way”. In taking this approach he got rid of several laws that protected the nation from the financial elites, one of those laws being the Glass-Stegall Act.

We are now living in the second Gilded Age of Big Business control of the government by the hyper-wealthy. In our era we see business titans from both the left and the right control our government. Neither political party is interested in reducing the size of government. Republicans say they want smaller government — what they really want is less government oversight. During Republicans’ time in office, government spending and government debt increased by over $7 trillion. It all gets down to power.

Because Republicans as well as Democrats believe in growing the size and power of government, it is more difficult to discern the “good guys” from the “bad guys”. As a result, many on the right have thrown up their hands in fear and confusion and have decided to believe the lies of politicians who are out to increase and seize the reins of power, destroying democracy in the process.

What’s needed now is another Teddy or Franklin Roosevelt. Both the Roosevelts were correct. “The government is us. We are the government, you and I” and, “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us.” These statements mirror the first three words of the Constitution: “We the People”.

We were once able to wrest control back into the peoples’ hands. We can do it again.

I believe Joe Biden is the man we need to follow if only we have the wit and wisdom to see it.