An open question to the ~50% of the electorate who voted for each of the major party candidates in the 2016 Presidential election: “Is the Republic Safe”? This question needs to be thoughtfully contemplated, without partisan bias, by those on both sides of our nation’s vast political and ideological divide. Consider the following:
Are Americans confident that our government is "of the people, by the people, for the people" as envisioned and structured by our Founding Fathers? Do all citizens enjoy the principle that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Are the Founding Principles, the bedrock values that formed the basis of the American Experiment, still revered and defended by those sworn to uphold the US Constitution?
Are the three branches of the federal government each functioning as co-equal with specific enumerated powers? Are our elected representatives accountable to their constituents? Do they govern in the interests of the individual? Are enemies, foreign and domestic, in retreat? Is the United States respected by foreign powers and still considered to be the land of opportunity, the “shining city on a hill”?
Do we have a federalist or nationalist form of government as it functions today? Do state and local governments continue to possess the powers guaranteed by the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution?
It has been quoted that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”. If we the citizens of the United States of America let down our guard, our freedoms may be seized. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
If freedom is to endure, it is imperative that we consider the question posed above. Is the Republic safe? If we cannot answer with resounding affirmation, there is work that remains to be done.
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