“America was waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that one-third of our people will kill one-third of our people while one-third of our people watches.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods
I don't like the odds here... With 2/3 of the population either in denial or armed and out for "retribution", that leaves an out-gunned, disempowered minority scrambling for a solution other than head-on violent confrontation.
During the January 6 Insurrection, we witnessed what Trump and his cult are capable of, even without the full power of the presidency. We watch in horror and shock as individuals are snatched off the streets and sent to hellish gulags without due process. Imagine what happens when words turn to action and the full force of the MAGA furies are released.
Congress has been castrated, and the judiciary has no means of enforcement of the law. It is time to imagine actions to take if a domestic terrorist autocrat tears up the Constitution and replaces it with the "Project 2025" manifesto. I am open to suggestions. Will the cavalry arrive to "save the day" and would that need to involve a full military coup? What are our options?
I think the most interesting point here, Mike, is:
18. Checks and balances only work if people honor them.
They are not self-executing. They depend on people choosing to uphold them.
A major part of my frustration with where we find ourselves is that there seems to be little accountability. There are laws for the common person that are heavily enforced (witness the massive number of incarcerations we have). For white color crime they are often enforced less. But then if you are the current President they are not enforced at all. We do not have clear mechanisms to ensure there will be a balance among the 3 branches of government, or that the President "presides" but does not dictate. I do not know what the mechanisms should be but we need them. This spot appears to be the "weakest link" right now in the chain that holds democracy together.
Notably when Obama needed to fill a SCOTUS position with a year to spare he could not because there was no clear mechanism to ensure that would happen. WTF.
The problem is that no such mechanism is possible. Constitutional democracy depends upon people having the decency to abide by the Constitution. There is no way to enforce compliance without corrupting the system. People need to accept that even when they lose the immediate issue, in the long run it is better for everyone to play by the rules.
American democracy was the practical end product of the latest stages of the Age of Enlightenment. Enlightenment philosophy holds true today, for it is truly eternal. The trouble is that too many of us are either unfamiliar with it or doubt it. Couple that with the commonplace confusion of brashness and confidence with authority and ability to find Americans having duped themselves into a second coming of Donald Trump.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men [people] deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." The Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776. If you need to read it here it is https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.
Thank you so very much for your writing. May I print this article out and hand it out at Apr 19's day of action and others to come? I will not alter anything and I will give you due credit. Either way, thank you for consolidating so many pieces of our foundation in one place.
“America was waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that one-third of our people will kill one-third of our people while one-third of our people watches.”
― Harlan Coben, The Boy from the Woods
I don't like the odds here... With 2/3 of the population either in denial or armed and out for "retribution", that leaves an out-gunned, disempowered minority scrambling for a solution other than head-on violent confrontation.
During the January 6 Insurrection, we witnessed what Trump and his cult are capable of, even without the full power of the presidency. We watch in horror and shock as individuals are snatched off the streets and sent to hellish gulags without due process. Imagine what happens when words turn to action and the full force of the MAGA furies are released.
Congress has been castrated, and the judiciary has no means of enforcement of the law. It is time to imagine actions to take if a domestic terrorist autocrat tears up the Constitution and replaces it with the "Project 2025" manifesto. I am open to suggestions. Will the cavalry arrive to "save the day" and would that need to involve a full military coup? What are our options?
I think the most interesting point here, Mike, is:
18. Checks and balances only work if people honor them.
They are not self-executing. They depend on people choosing to uphold them.
A major part of my frustration with where we find ourselves is that there seems to be little accountability. There are laws for the common person that are heavily enforced (witness the massive number of incarcerations we have). For white color crime they are often enforced less. But then if you are the current President they are not enforced at all. We do not have clear mechanisms to ensure there will be a balance among the 3 branches of government, or that the President "presides" but does not dictate. I do not know what the mechanisms should be but we need them. This spot appears to be the "weakest link" right now in the chain that holds democracy together.
Notably when Obama needed to fill a SCOTUS position with a year to spare he could not because there was no clear mechanism to ensure that would happen. WTF.
The problem is that no such mechanism is possible. Constitutional democracy depends upon people having the decency to abide by the Constitution. There is no way to enforce compliance without corrupting the system. People need to accept that even when they lose the immediate issue, in the long run it is better for everyone to play by the rules.
American democracy was the practical end product of the latest stages of the Age of Enlightenment. Enlightenment philosophy holds true today, for it is truly eternal. The trouble is that too many of us are either unfamiliar with it or doubt it. Couple that with the commonplace confusion of brashness and confidence with authority and ability to find Americans having duped themselves into a second coming of Donald Trump.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men [people] deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." The Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776. If you need to read it here it is https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.
All the statements in this post are true. It is bizarre that not every American knows so. In that gap lies our problem.
Thank you so very much for your writing. May I print this article out and hand it out at Apr 19's day of action and others to come? I will not alter anything and I will give you due credit. Either way, thank you for consolidating so many pieces of our foundation in one place.
Be my guest!
Thank you so much!--for this article, and for all you do!
great idea!
Right on!
Still here for the truth, still standing up for truth, still getting smacked upside the head for saying truths but I guess that's what I'm here for...
Will enough people realize in time?
Amen! Yes…All of us have the moral responsibility as citizens to uphold these Truths.
Thank you Mike Brock for holding the center and speaking out with your pen and voice!
you just laid it out..so frustrated. keep saying ..."he can't do this!" and he is and we have to resist. thank you
So what happens now?