American Monarchies

For a man who’s only work experience comes from owning his family's real-estate company Kushner’s rise to power has been surprisingly swift given how woefully underqualified he is as Senior Advisor. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times stated it perfectly: “Mr. Kushner … at age 36 occupies an ill-defined role somewhere between princeling and President Trump’s shadow chief of staff” (Thrush). This blend of roles is nothing new for American politicians. The Founding Fathers tried to avoid a monarchy like the plague, but now America must deal with its bastard child, nepotism. Nepotism is the practice of those in power favoring their relatives or friends by appointing them to influential positions. Political nepotism is a negative trend that allows unfiltered bias to corrupt the government. It must be stopped in order to secure the vision the Founding Fathers created, an America where all citizens can participate in the government.

Let’s take a look back into the “monarchies” of America. You don’t have to look far. Because of the Kennedy's’ tragic story, many forget that John appointed his brother Robert as Attorney General. When Robert was nominated reactions seem to parallel those today: “Even assuming that Bobby Kennedy is the most highly qualified man for the job of Attorney General, the taint of nepotism is impossible to avoid … he is only 34 and has had little legal experience” (Steele). The Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice, the chief law enforcement officer, and chief lawyer of the United States government. If the Attorney General were to prosecute those who endanger the president’s political agenda, the system of justice becomes corrupted by bias. It is not the place of the government to intervene on behalf of the president. If this were to occur the balance between the branches of government would collapse leaving the nation in chaos. It seems only sane to realize that family can not be unbiased towards each other and, therefore, the United States government.

The same concept can be applied to this administration. Jared Kushner is “meddling in matters he lacks the depth or the resources to grasp… yet there is no other White House staff member in recent history who has had such an important and diverse array of responsibilities” (Bartlett). This lack of experience leaves the nation in a terrible situation. If one were to go back in time, say mid-December, they would find Kushner in the same room with Russian banker Sergey N. Gorkov, who is a close associate of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia (Rosenberg). It is clear that this administration is unfit to hold secrets of national security. While Kushner was speaking to Gorkov in Trump Tower the president was viciously feuding with American intelligence agencies after their conclusion that Russia had tried to disrupt the presidential election. The lies mixed with nepotism have poisoned the government. Policies and laws that could define the generation are starting to appear, but their creators are lead astray by greed and corruption. Instead, we need government officials who are qualified, have the experience, and are not held down by political “monarchies”. Only then will our government flourish.