They went back and forth, the strongmen of the nation assembled and did whatever they could to achieve the ultimate goal- that of power. Little by little both chipped away, the other side gasped in horror when their opponent did it but when their hero did it they cheered it on. Back and forth, back and forth in this tennis game of politics the ball was hit and each time with a greater force than the next.

My friends, I realize that the "rule of law" is a concept none of us are completely free from hypocrisy with but this I plead before you- we must respect it.

I realize it may be tempting and easy to ignore or neglect the constitution when your own side is in trouble but this I plead before you- is it worth sacrificing the future of this nation in order to fulfill temporary political aims?

I may be at risk of quoting Simon Bolivar too much, but in times like these we all need to be reminded of this

"Ambition and intrigue abuses the credulity and experience of men lacking all political, economic, and civic knowledge; they adopt pure illusion as reality; they take license for liberty, treachery for patriotism, and vengeance for justice. If a people, perverted by their training, succeed in achieving their liberty, they will soon lose it, for it would be of no avail to endeavor to explain to them that happiness consists in the practice of virtue; that the rule of law is more powerful than the rule of tyrants, because, as the laws are more inflexible, every one should submit to their beneficent austerity; that proper morals, and not force, are the bases of law; and that to practice justice is to practice liberty."

I realize Bolivar was from a different culture, but many of these words strike at the very human core which remains the same regardless of where and when we are.

Ambition is something we all possess within ourselves. It is a powerful tool that is not in itself evil- it propels us to achieve things greater than ourselves, to go past our own individuality and to accomplish greatness. However my gentle reader, I beg of you to balance your ambition and make it for the right and for the truth. Ambition properly guided to making a better life for those around you will help others and this is the path that George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and many other great people have taken. However, ambition corrupted resorts in power grabs which benefit nobody in the long run and politics becomes revenge politics of give and take, give and take and tossed back and forth by every strongman (or woman) who enters the political statement. They cry "you are ruining the rule of law!" when the other side tampers with the constitution, but however when they are in power they do likewise. This is not politics as usual, this is a dangerous game which is prone to cast us further into the dark pit of polarization and instability unless we change our ways. By abusing the rule of law we adopt an instability where nobody knows what the law actually is, and no ambitious individuals are restrained from ruining the constitution because we are all doing and using the constitution to fit our own personal advantages. I do not deny that there are laws that need to be changed, of course we must be proactive and speak against unjust laws. However, when you pick and choose which laws to follow and yell at your political opponents for doing the same you undo all the guise of stability that we mustered and politics becomes unpredictable and the constitution becomes a pawn for your own agenda.

The constitution was built to restrain power, it is a contract between the government and the governed with consent of the governed. It is in place to guard the people's rights, and to safe guard all branches of government from stepping on each other. The moment a ruler chooses to disregard or mock the constitution which holds his power in place- my friends, that is the moment I weep in despair for "alas! how shall checks and balances be in place?"

We need rules in place to respect liberty and checks and balances. Any leader who mocks these rules holding in his or her own power is mocking our very concept of checks and balances. This I plead with you my dear readers- do not let your own political preferences whether you fall on the right or left of me, blind you to the truth that is held up in the checks and balances of power.

I could say much more on this topic as I hold the checks of power dear to my heart, this is an issue we must all examine our own hearts in because it is too tempting to endeavor to invoke the constitution when it is in your favor, but turn a blind eye when your own party disregards it. My dear readers, citizens of the republic- may we always up hold republican virtue by staying active in politics and keeping an eye on what is going on. Remember the Constitution is our guard for checks and balances, and like I said before- checks and balances are like the flying buttresses of a cathedral. They all are separate and balance the weight of the glorious structure of democracy. If one check falls the weight would be redistributed but if more fall then the structural integrity of the cathedral is weakened.

Regardless of where you stand on the spectrum, let us all appreciate checks and balances and remember this is our social contract.