I have tried over the last ten years to make this blog primarily subject oriented: photography, food, travel, and living, and the latter was loosely defined. It truly depended on what was passing through my mind: thoughts of relatives who have passed on, the differences in taste buds (savory vs sweet), perspectives (normal and unusual), .... just aspects of every day living. I tried to keep my personal thoughts on politics, economics, religion, social justice or injustice, and democracy out of this small blog, but it becomes harder and harder, if I want to write at all.
I am ashamed to say that I and my education failed me. Why? Because I never read the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution of the United States ... that is until Trump was inaugurated. We all have heard so many of the Articles quoted and referenced in the news and in television programs, so I guess I thought I was well enough acquainted with their contents. The inauguration and Trump's early performance as President made me seek out copies of both, each of which I have read several times.
Like too many of us who have been fortunate enough to have been born in the United States in the mid- to late- 20th century, I've taken our democracy for granted. In college, I studied other forms of government, but until recently, I never thought I would ever personally see the the face of any other possible form of government. Democracy seemed to work despite ourselves. I'd read about monarchy, oligarchy, and tyranny, and recently even became acquainted with the term plutocracy, but never thought I'd need to understand exactly what those terms and governmental structures could mean when living within them.
So many have said that Democracy is fragile and it's proving to be true. I pray to God, we do not see it fail completely. There is a story, repeated often, that when Benjamin Franklin exited the Constitutional Convention he was asked what sort of government the delegates had created for this new country. His answer was "A republic, if you can keep it." Reading this, sent me immediately to research the exact definition of "republic". A republic is " a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officials and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law".
Our Congress men and women are elected officials and have sworn to uphold the Constitution, our laws, and our Democracy. Why are they failing so blatantly? Why is any of this being tolerated? This behavior terrifies me for the future of not only our country but the world. Tolerance and compromise seem to have vanished from our representatives. Self-interested politics appears to be the driving force in Washington, undermining the rule of law and nearly all of our democratic principles.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, in one of his daily Corona briefings recently said, "Politics defeats intelligent conversation". Observing politics operating in the U.S. today, I agree.
Professor Richard Beeman, Ph.D., a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania wrote an article titled, "Perspectives on the Constitution: A Republic, if You Can Keep It", in which he said, "Our Constitution is neither a self-actuating nor a self-correcting document. It requires the constant attention and devotion of all citizens." It is our collective responsibility, elected officials and the electorate together, to protect and defend our Constitution. We need to be wiser and smarter about who is elected to represent us. It is our responsibility to hear candidates' positions and demand answers to any and all of our questions, and to make educated votes based on facts, not politics.