Ahh, Mr. President, I apologize. I have searched time and time again for it in the Constitution, but it hasn't been brought to my attention that you have this power. This does not just go for President Trump; this goes for every president. If we had a government that could shut down based on the wishes of one man, what kind of government would we have? Would we be a stable country? Or would we degenerate into anarchy and factions ruled by strongman after strongman?
This is what would happen to any nation where the president sets a precedent of absolute power and authority: it would turn into a monarchy. With the heated and polarized state of U.S. politics today, this would make the Democratic Party hungry for revenge and would continue this ping-pong game of politics.
At this point, both parties are at fault for revenge politics and for swaying the people's emotions towards revenge, which is a natural impulse in mankind. All people want power, in some shape or form - it is something we desire. A little child wanting to eat ice cream for breakfast wants power, the power to choose what they want to eat - just as a leader wants to rule a country. It is natural to want power, and we shouldn't try to deny it - we need to balance it and make sure people want power for the right reasons. Does somebody want power so they can fix the education system and help people? That's good. Does somebody want power just because? That is a bad sign.
It is natural, as George Washington said, for one party in a two-party system to want more power than the other party.
"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities." - George Washington
This is what these United States of America are facing right now. Notice how I said "these United States are" and not "the United States is."
After the Civil War, it was commonplace to say "the United States is" to give the allusion that we are one unified body. I want unity, but at the present time, I must resort to "these United States are" because that is how we are behaving.
Mr. President, leaders of this nation, dear citizens who are reading this - do not let revenge politics control your decisions. It is also natural for humans to want revenge; it comes from a desire for justice but has been twisted the wrong way throughout the years. Revenge usually ends badly and makes a situation even worse when we take it into our own hands. We need to acknowledge that revenge politics is not confined to stereotypical Eastern Europe, and power politics isn't exclusive to a stereotypical Napoleon-esque dictator who staged a coup. It is in all of us, regardless of who we are and where we come from. Once we acknowledge this - that these, our misguided revenge and power instincts, are our enemies - then we take another step towards healing not only our Patria but the entire world.
Can Trump shut down the government because he isn't getting funding for his desires? No.
Can Obama? No. Can George Washington? No. Could I, if I were president and wasn't getting my desires? No.
We must all be held to the same standards under the rule of law and the Constitution regardless of who we are. Power is tempting and must be shared by all - no one person should ever have so much power invested in themselves. The liberator of South America, Simon Bolivar, in indignation wrote, "Flee the nation where one man holds power, it is a nation of slaves," as he was disgusted at Napoleon's coronation. Years later, Bolivar also wrote, "But pity the man who holds all the power."
Bolivar was correct: having that much power is not only bad for a nation - we also should pity whoever has that much power since, in their heart, they bear the greatest burden of us all.
We do have a voice still, and I'm not calling Trump an absolute monarch or a Napoleon. Many presidents have done the same - but it still does not make it right. True, in some circumstances like Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, areas get grey. But that is a debate and discussion left for another day.
In brief, power is something that is unavoidable, and we all want it in our lives. It is a natural human survival instinct. But revenge politics combined with power politics is a dangerous combination for a nation, especially as checks and balances become eroded and people find enemies in whoever is different from them.
Keep these principles in mind the next time you cheer on a person from your own party for doing something and criticize somebody from the opposite party for doing the same.
For liberty, always for liberty.
