Do you hear the blaring societal sirens and screeching warnings that are mounting fast all around us? I sure do — they’re blasting through every level of our society, and they’re both deafening and horrifying. (Yet many of us seem totally oblivious.)
2024 promises to bring a shitstorm of epic proportions — including a massive legal and Constitutional shitstorm.
For several decades, political commentators and historians have been warning that the U.S. is on the verge of a major Constitutional crisis. They warn that if ‘x’ happens we’ll find ourselves embroiled in such a crisis — with ‘x’ being executive branch overreach, financial default, conflict and gridlock between the branches of government, ideological undermining of the Constitution, misinterpretation of the Constitution, or out-of-control partisan gerrymandering.
But what if all these issues start cropping up at once? Horrifyingly, today we’re already experiencing MOST of these dangerous ‘x’ factors or triggers — and we’re starting to see their destructive results as well. The truth is, the U.S. is already ‘stuck’ in numerous ongoing or fast-developing Constitutional crises.
What IS a “Constitutional crisis?”
But what exactly IS a “Constitutional crisis?” One of the best explanations of Constitutional crisis I’ve found is in an article on FiveThirtyEight.com titled “The Four Types of Constitutional Crisis.”
This article astutely observes that many varied issues can be labeled, or quickly turn into, a “Constitutional crisis” — but the main thing they have in common is that they all create a dangerous, ongoing crisis of governance. The article divides “Constitutional crisis” into four subsets or types:
- The Constitution doesn’t say what to do.
- The Constitution’s meaning is in question.
- The Constitution tells us what to do, but it’s not politically feasible.
- Institutions themselves fail.
Today we’re experiencing all four types.
Loss of public legitimacy leads to paralysis
That article concludes:
“Serious constitutional crises occur when our institutions are rendered ineffective, which is usually about politics more than process, and often has less to do with how institutions were designed than with how legitimate they are perceived to be.”
Ah, yes — perceived political legitimacy. If it disintegrates or is somehow lost … all bets are off.
Thus the largest component of any Constitutional crisis is either actual or perceived failure of governance … since effective governance depends largely on the trust of the governed, and their willing acceptance of that governance.
Absent the crucial preconditions of trust and perceived legitimacy … government and life in society both start to collapse into paralysis and chaos.
And that’s exactly where we are today: our government and our society are both starting to collapse and slowly grind to a halt.
Here are seven striking examples:
#1: The now-diminished (yet crucial) role of the ‘fourth estate,’ namely the press and news media.
The ThoughtCo.com website says:
“In the United States, the term fourth estate is sometimes used to place the press alongside the three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial.
The fourth estate refers to the watchdog role of the press, one that is important to a functioning democracy.”
Though the ‘fourth estate’ isn’t technically part of our government, it plays a critical role in our society and in our semi-democracy and the governing process, since it holds government officials to account and also helps explain/reveal government operations to our citizens.
At least, that’s how it’s supposed to function. But … not so much anymore.
That’s because most Americans have lost their trust in the press and news media, which is mainly due to the persistent, seditious efforts of Donald Trump and Fox ‘News’ to discredit them and brand them as the ‘fake news media.’ There are other reasons for their strong distrust, as well, but that endless barrage of scorn from the far right has had devastating effects and has almost crippled the vital role of the news media in America.
Thus, the collapse of the ‘fourth estate’ falls under the heading Institutions themselves fail (with much bad-faith partisan ‘help’).
#2: Trump’s and the GOP’s concerted, prolonged efforts to undermine trust in our elections and our voting processes.
This problem directly affects the vital functioning of our government. Long before the 2020 election, Trump started sowing intense doubt and fear about looming ‘voter fraud,’ and kept up his fierce, intentional undermining long after he lost the election — to the point that he still insists he ‘really won’ the election, and is now making ‘the stolen 2020 election’ one of the central themes of his 2024 re-election campaign.
This deceptive ‘voter fraud’ propaganda is highly disruptive, indeed destructive, to our semi-democracy — yet it is both accepted and believed by a large majority of the GOP … and has drastically undermined and almost destroyed many peoples’ faith in our elections. Our system of elections is dependent on Americans’ willing acceptance of validated election results — and without that willingness and trust in objectively verifiable election results, our representative democracy simply can’t function, and will start to fall apart and fail.
#3: The ever-expanding conflict between some states and the federal government over so-called ‘states’ rights.’
These days, the conflict is primarily between deep ‘red’ conservative states like Texas and Florida and the Feds, and it’s taken particularly vicious form in the escalating legal and political battles between Texas and the Biden administration over the border and how to control illegal immigration. And in general, the more conservative states are always ‘testing the limits’ and pushing hard to circumvent the rulings and laws that emerge from the federal legislature or federal agencies (like the EPA) and courts.
We’re approaching a level of conflict over federal vs. state rights that’s almost as dangerous as the level immediately preceding our Civil War — and we all know how badly that turned out. Yet on the right there’s spreading, wild talk of a new ‘Civil War.’ That’s governing crisis number three.
#4: Then we’ve got the insidious, destructive ways that the GOP and Trump have politicized, discredited, and undermined our public health officials and processes, during and since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vital tools of public health like masking, vaccines, and time-limited public mandates have been relentlessly vilified, to the point they are now hated and/or avoided by much of our population. This is actually a huge problem, since it led — and continues to lead — to increased illness and deaths among our citizens. And it poses a hugely difficult problem for governing officials and both state and federal health agencies.
#5: A deep crisis of governance has been directly caused by the outrageous and amoral actions and demagoguery of Donald Trump, both during and since his presidency.
Our founders were well aware of the dangers posed by demagogues, and made provisions to help our nation deal with such unscrupulous, immoral men — but they probably never imagined, in their wildest dreams, the depths of depravity and overt deception foisted on us over the past eight years by Trump and far-right media. ALL of the above instances of governmental or Constitutional crisis were either instigated or worsened by far-right media and Trump — and then by their escalating combined efforts.
There’s another word for these combined, dangerous efforts that Americans should realistically start applying here: sedition.
That is, Trump and far-right media — and much of the GOP as well — have all been engaging in overt, very public efforts to undermine and destabilize our nation. These ongoing (and highly effective) efforts easily fit the parameters for sedition, and are truly nothing but sedition.
#6: Here’s an ongoing crisis that embodies the second type of Constitutional crisis: “The Constitution’s meaning is in question” — namely, America’s deepening ‘great divide’ over guns and gun rights.
For decades, conservatives have been insisting that our 2nd Amendment supports Americans’ ‘God-given right’ to unlimited guns and weaponry. The big problem with their interpretation of our Constitution, though — and it’s a doozy — is that it doesn’t say any such thing!
The full text reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It appears to me, and to many strict Constitutionalists, that this amendment is meant to ensure that Americans can band together in “well regulated” Militias to protect their freedom, and can keep and bear arms for that specific purpose.
The actual language of the 2nd Amendment is rather unclear, even confusing — so what many conservatives do is totally ignore the entire first half of the amendment and then … double down endlessly on their very loose interpretation of “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Of course, the founders would have been very unlikely to give total carte blanche to modern assault weapons that can rapidly kill hundreds. So it’s both morally and politically objectionable that folks on the right think they can pick and choose which parts of the Constitution to honor, and which they can discard or ignore.
Clearly, the GOP and fervent gun-rights advocates aren’t interested in the true meaning of the Second Amendment — only in their own self-serving interpretation, which is bringing intense, murderous violence raining down on our country.
#7: Lastly — and I saved the best (worst) for last — the ‘mother of all Constitutional crises’ is intensifying fast as we approach the 2024 election: namely, the unresolved question of whether a twice-impeached, four-times indicted, violence-inciting, and seditious ex-president can or should be allowed to run for president yet again.
This issue is heating up, big time, since the states of Colorado and Maine both decided (based on the 14th Amendment) that Trump can’t be on the ballot due to his role in fomenting the Jan. 6 insurrection. Of course, immediate, furious GOP-led appeals resulted — and now the Supreme Court has decided to hear the Colorado case. Maine’s is probably up next — and then there are likely to be a slew of others.
What a mess. What a tremendous Constitutional mess.
Amazingly, our Constitution has almost nothing to say about requirements to run for president; the only requirements that are mentioned are to be a native “American-born” citizen, and to be over the age of 35. That’s it! There’s no mention of prior public service or even commitment to the welfare of American citizens.
Given the ridiculously minimal requirements listed in our Constitution, an accused defendant like Donald Trump can run for president while being tried for numerous alleged crimes; then win the actual election; be convicted of one or more crimes; get sentenced to prison … and still be our supposed (elected) ‘president’ and potentially even run our government from his prison cell!
OR, the Supreme Court could somehow step in (it’s unclear how or if this could happen) and prohibit Trump from serving as president if he’s a convicted felon — and then all hell would break loose, all over the country.
If past is prologue, many of his most rabid, violence-prone supporters will be rampaging, attacking courts, interfering with our governmental functions, engaging in open insurrection, and quite possibly murdering as many government/DOJ officials as possible. All, of course, with Trump’s total, leering support.
Folks, that entire (very likely) scenario is … utterly insane. Bonkers. Clearly, this unresolved and massive issue falls under #1 above: “The Constitution doesn’t say what to do.”
And equally clearly, Americans desperately need some spirited public debate on this issue, and the Supreme Court better come up with some effective, enforceable rules and guidelines well before November — or our elections, the presidency, and our nation itself will be forever tarnished and, quite possibly, irrevocably damaged. (Of course, given our current crazed politics, ANY decision will likely lead to mass protests and violence on one side or the other.)
Mega-crisis is already here — and intensifying
In this essay I’ve only scratched the surface of the complex topic of ‘Constitutional crisis.’ Yet I think I’ve made my main point quite clear: our nation is now embroiled in multiple severe crises of governance, some of which also qualify as bona fide ‘Constitutional crises.’ In fact, we’re now embroiled in seven simultaneous political crises (eight if we also include ongoing, intense right-wing abuse of our free speech laws and rules).
It’s truly a grave national emergency.
If we wish our nation to continue as a functional government and society, we simply have to find ways to bind our nation back together, and undo the severe damage that’s been wrought by Trump, his MAGA followers, and other far-right seditionists. Otherwise, all these ongoing crises — and new ones — will keep intensifying and will lead inevitably to societal collapse.
It may already be too late. Time — and the upcoming election — will tell.
—
This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
***
You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock.com