By Howard Monroe For over 200 years our country has survived largely because of our belief in the Constitution and the people in power who respect it. But times they are a’changing. Certainly the efforts to overthrow the legal election results and the subsequent insurrection on January 6 are prime examples of those who put politics and personal power ahead of respect for the constitution. And the instution of the Supreme Court is all but useless now. Completely overcome by politics. Established by the Founders to be the ultimate guardian of our Constitution with wise men (and ultimately women) who disregard personal preferences and political positions but rather rule to preserve the vision of this country…. It has now devolved to the exact opposite. When Mitch Mcconnel refused to allow Barack Obama’s nominee to proceed… And then rushed through Trump’s nominee to prevent a change in Presidency from derailing McConnell’s plan for control of the court… The proper Constitutional system of advice and consent, checks and balances was wiped away for personal gain We now know at least 2 nominees lied to Senators about their intent on Roe v Wade to position themselves to quickly overturn it despite their protestations they would not. The Supreme Court as envisioned by the Founding Fathers is gone and is now just another gang of political appointees doing the political business, regardless of the Constitution. Our nation of laws is only as good as those we elect to represent us. And too many at the top no longer do—represent us. How do we turn it around? Can we turn it around? The only solution is to elect better leaders, but the system of money, media, and more all work against those better elections. I remember Ben Franklin’s answer when asked “what do we have—a republic or a monarchy?”. And he said “a republic—if you can keep it”. That’s a very real challenge now. Can we keep it? Or is the great American experiment almost done?
