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To the Editor,
Senator Amy Klobuchar and other federal legislators have reminded us that we have of the need to keep our Democracy. "A lady asked Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy - A republic replied the Doctor if you can keep it."
The US Constitution is a wise and lasting document that touches our very lives. To guarantee that no single branch of the government stands alone, The US Constitution formally establishes "trias politica" or the Separation of Powers doctrine. By dividing political authority among the three co-equal branches of government, each branch can meaningfully limit the others' powers and ensure balanced governance.
Of the seven articles of the main text of the US Constitution, the first three articles establish how the Separation of Powers doctrine works from the outset, with the fourth article hinting at the checks and balance system at work. Essentially, the Constitution assigns the legislative branch to make laws, the executive branch to implement these laws, and the judicial branch to interpret these laws when issues arise. Therefore, the constitution establishes what we learned in eighth or ninth grade what was and is known as "The Powers of Checks and Balances." Candidates for President swear to uphold the Constitution of the U.S.A. Therefore, to "fear that the opposing candidate's election would cause the Constitution to be taken away and for America to fail," is a position that is a non sequitur. It cannot be true that the Constitution is so fragile that it can be destroyed by one woman or man's election, for there are three branches which check and balance it. An actual coup cannot take place as there is a check on the endeavor.
Seems too many of us feel that if either leading person is elected that election can and will take the U.S.A. into an un-Constitutional Monarchy or Despotism, and the result is a country most unlike the founders intent.
Once more, the rhetoric has been thrown around with gay abandon and with words falling on ears which can add 2 + 2 and get a dangerous 5. Should we view the Democracy as a fragility or The Constitution of the U,S,A as a strong and lasting reality. The choice is ours.
The Rev. Jeffrey A. Mackey
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