America’s Need for a (Temporary) Dictator

In the ancient Roman Republic when crises threatened the republic, a dictator would be named to serve a six month term in which the dictator was to solve the crisis.  With the exception of Caesar (and some sources refer to another as well) no dictator served beyond this term limit.  One man, Cincinnatus, held the dictatorship, raised an army, destroyed their enemies, and gave up his dictatorship.  He did this in sixteen days.  Sixteen days of unlimited power, and the crisis was taken care of.  Even more amazing, he gave up his power.  This is a prime example of what the United States needs.

In recent years Americans have dealt with crisis after crisis, from 9/11 to Katrina to the on going and seemingly endless War on Terror.  The disaster of 9/11 was handled well, although a ‘War on Terror’ was not needed as much as a war on those who attacked us.  That aside though, government did a good job of handling the situation.  However, Katrina was a different story.  Even now, people are homeless, and much is still destroyed.  Every piece of news media jumped at how ineffective the government was in handling the problems Katrina caused.  The on going war needs to meet Congressional approval, for military spending and time allotted to fight the war on it’s current battlefront.  A large portion of this lack of effectiveness in both the aftermath of Katrina, and the Iraq War is do to limitations on the central power of this government.  A dictator, in the sense of the world from the Roman Republic, would solve this easily.  With unlimited ability to use government resources to solve crises, a dictator would be extremely effective.

However history has shown that those with immense power, seldom step down without a fight.  Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and many others have all abused and corrupted the title of dictator.  These are not the type of dictator America needs.  America needs a level headed, decisive person who understands the limits of the Constitution, but is willing to cross the line, only when absolute necessary, to get the job done.  We need a dictator who loves this nation enough to surrender power and return it to the three branches we have grown to love and hate.  Find that dictator, and this nation can be fixed.

Now a dictatorship would need to be limited.  A dictator should be given military jurisdiction, control of resources required to confront a crisis, and that’s about it.  A dictator should not be able to trample on the rights guaranteed to the people of the United States.  It should merely be given the ability to end crises and give domestic aid to the victims of crises.  Time in office should also be limited.  A dictator should serve for a maximum of a year, and be forcibly removed if need be after any longer.  This dictator should be required to address Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court while executing its policies.  The Congress, President, and Supreme Court will thus ensure that no rights are being violated.  This address should be much like the State of the Union Address, and be televised live.  With these limits on power, and the close eye of the public, a dictator would be able to solve problems and not abuse power.  Other limits may be necessary, but I’ll let those be decided when (and if) this is ever implemented.

So America needs this position to effectively and quickly deal with crises.  Wars should be finished quickly, and only against an aggressor, in which it can be justified to obliterate the aggressor in its entirety.  Natural disasters should receive immediate aide, both from federal and state governments.  In closing, America needs a dictator who is willing to risk their popularity, their life, and anything else for the greater good of the United States.  America needs a dictator, just like the ones from the Roman Republic.