Trump, McConnell, Barr, et al have clogged our "relief valves".
My high school government and history teacher took great pains to explain how those who wrote our Constitution anticipated that flawed people would, from time to time, rise to leadership positions in our government. He pointed out that regularly scheduled elections, impeachment, the right to assemble and the right to petition for redress of grievances were all "safety valves" designed to provide alternatives to revolution when our government went astray. The very division of power among three originally designated "co-equal branches" of government was also a safety valve as corruption or excess in one branch could be remedied by appeals to one or both of the other branches.
As part of his explanation, my teacher compared our government to a pressure cooker, a cooking pot with which most everyone in that era was familiar. Food plus some type of liquid was placed into the pot and its lid was screwed on to seal it. As the liquid boiled, steam pressure built up inside the enclosure and cooked the food much faster than an open pan. Built into the lid of the pressure cooker was some form of valve which would open when the steam pressure reached a dangerous level. This "safety" or "relief" valve literally prevented the pot from exploding.
To speak plainly, our federal courts---up to the SCOTUS--have been tainted and corrupted by the appointment of incompetent ideologues and sycophants.
Our White House is occupied by a cross between Richie Rich, the village idiot and Bull Connor.
Our Congress is hamstrung by the Senate's absolute deference to whatever dangerous nonsense Trump spews out from day to day.
Our freedom of assembly is being steadily eroded by Republican state legislatures and unchecked law enforcement.
And, lately, I find I am not alone in wondering if we will have a truly "free and fair" election next year.
Without safe and effective safety valves, pressure cookers will inevitably destroy themselves. Why should we expect a different fate for our nation's government if the passion and will of it's people continue to be thwarted and suppressed?
= new reply since forum marked as read
