When I was a civics teacher, I loved teaching about the Supreme Court. More specifically the idea that something has to go wrong somewhere before the court can make a game changing decision. It was fun doing this with mock cases. We read the facts of the case and got over our personal biases with the situation. Once we could see things clearly, we applied statute and case law in an attempt to render a fair decision. The main learning target was to understand that when the Supreme Court rules, it changes our way of life.
Our current impeachment proceedings are no different except we are dealing with the House and Senate. If you are seeing this through the lens of being either for or against Trump, I wish you were in my civics class. The impeachment is about the essential question of the case. Can we allow the president to use public funds as leverage over a country in return for help in damaging a political opponent? This alleged conduct is and should be a defining moment for our Democracy. Yes, it deserves a full and thorough process because the answer is too important to leave to simple politics.
This impeachment will help us decide what kind of democracy we want to live in. What we allow is what we become. If we allow our president to use his office (allegedly) to influence an election or eliminate political rivals, what do we actually have? If we say this behavior is okay, then we have to accept that we are no longer a democracy. One could argue that we are moving towards totalitarianism. A far cry from what the writers of the constitution were hoping for. Sure we are the great experiment, but I think this process is part of the same experiment. The framers didn't intend for us to depart from democracy all together.
My only request is that you not make this process about who is winning, because we could all be losers depending on the outcome. The decision made will surely change the political landscape and our attitude towards those who are elected to govern us. Think back to your government or civics class. It's all about checks and balances. Let the process work and don't make it about the players. It has to be about what is at steak. Regardless of how I feel about the president, any president should be brought to impeachment for the same reasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment