If I organized a No Kings Rally demonstration in Constitution Court, would you participate? Would you help me organize it?
Here’s why I ask: The framers of the Constitution had just fought a war to gain independence from Great Britain, and the last thing they wanted was a king as the executive, so they built checks and balances into the Constitution.
The idea was that if the executive tried to exert too much power — like a king or autocrat for example — the legislature could rein him or her in through impeachment, not passing the executive’s legislative agenda or not funding it. Similarly, the Supreme Court could order the president to “turn the plane around.”
The problem we have now, of course, is that Donald Trump seems to control all three branches of the federal government, effectively eliminating any checks and throwing the whole system off balance.
So what are we, who believe that he is exceeding his constitutional authority, to do? Wring our hands, pray and hope that our democratic system doesn’t crash and burn?
Well, I’m all for praying. Ironically, “In God we trust” is printed right there on our paper money, which we often trust more than God to save us.
But there is something that we the people can do.
When we think of checks and balances we tend to think of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government, but a month ago on the PBS Newshour David Brooks reminded me that there’s a “fourth branch of government” which can act as a check and balance. It’s called We the People.
He said that “We” have to get together and form “one big civic movement.” He argued, “And if you look down through history, there have been social movements, these kinds of civic uprisings that have succeeded. They have banded together across sectors. They have a clear, simple message that appeals to a lot of different people. They use things like lawsuits, protests, boycotts, all sorts of things, strikes, anything they can do.
“And the one turning point, if you look even at the Civil Rights Movement, when you do a nonviolent protest and the people on the other side attack you with violence, that tends to weaken them. And then suddenly you’re dividing them — some, obviously.
“And so this is the kind of way we have to think, that it’s time not just to think, ‘well, maybe he will look at the other guy.’ It’s time we’re all involved, we’re all in this together, and we’re going to amass power together.”
When I heard Brooks’ argument, I thought, “Here, here! What we need is a Dr. King, a Nelson Mandela, a Mahatma Ghandhi, a charismatic someone to rally the troops and pull off this ‘big civic movement.’”
And while I was thinking that noble thought, I heard Rosa Parks say to me, “You do it.”
“But, but,” I protested, “I have a neurological disorder and people have trouble understanding my speech.”
And Ms. Parks replied, “Do you remember Moses, Pastor Holmes? God called him from the burning bush to lead the people of Israel to freedom from slavery in Egypt, and Moses came up with one excuse after another as to why he was not the man for the job, one of which was that he couldn’t talk right!”
I have a book titled, Anyway, the Paradoxical Commandments, one of which goes, “The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.”
“But, but my voice is so small,” I protested.
This time it wasn’t Rosa Parks but Pete Seeger’s voice that troubled my reluctant, placid waters.
One man’s hands can’t tear a prison down
Two men’s hands can’t tear a prison down
But if two and two and fifty make a million
We’ll see that day come round
We’ll see that day come round.
“But, but what if we fail?”
This time it was Rev. Cliff DiMascio’s voice that adjusted my attitude.
“Tom, do you remember back in 1992 how a bunch of us pastors decided that we needed to do something to help homeless people? How we put the word out and had a meal and bedding all set to go at my church, and how on the first night nobody came? Do you remember? That seed sprouted into Housing Forward.”
Maybe the 11th paradoxical commandment should read, “If you try to do something to make the world a better place (tikkun olam), you might fail. Try to make the world a better place anyway.”
My faith tradition believes that washing people’s feet, the job of a servant, may paradoxically be one of the most transformational acts we can do. You guessed it. Let’s do small things like maybe 10 of us holding a fun demonstration in Constitution Court anyway.
If you are interested, my email is tomholmes10@gmail.com.