That is simply not true. We all value the Constitution of the United States, even if we fervently disagree how it should be interpreted and implemented. If you are willing to trash the Constitution and go outside of regular Constitutional order, then yes you are right, America no longer has any fundamental values.
The author raises some very valid points, which the superficial and non-thinking only dismiss at their peril. Whether or not we want as a nation to give up Constitutional principles and the notion of democracy itself to “get what we want” has become the burning issue in American politics, no matter what side of any issue one cares to debate. It is implicit in the conundrum we as humans face in settling our affairs with one another.
My sense is that while we do still have a Constitutional order, but under Trump, who feels he can violate his oath of office to suit his whim, it is fragile. It is fragile not only because of Trump, but because there are now many fault lines among the various factions of so many undecided and perhaps undecidable issues that face us as a nation. People want to hold on to their beliefs even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. While this is quite typical of human nature, it also poses a great danger to all of us in that failure to address some kinds of problems, such as wanton destruction of marine ecosystems upon which 50% of all human protein derives or such as human induced climate change will manifest themselves whether or not we find choose to disagree.
Another fundamental problem with our Constitutional system is the Constitutional system itself. It is a document written largely within a 18th century mindset. In the 21st century there are now issues that our Constitution was never designed to address and consequently provides little guidance or help in resolving these issues. It also brings with it the many inherent structural biases that are of a historical nature, but which make solutions to 21st century problems virtually impossible to solve in the context of a well-functioning democracy. Although amendments have kept us afloat as a nation, they are extremely difficult to achieve. In our currently highly polarized political environment perhaps virtually impossible.
We have also entered into a world when the distinction between foreign and domestic interests have blurred. With the rise of multinational corporations and our president now openly seeking to involve foreign governments in our national elections, the bulkhead envisioned by our founding fathers against foreign influence in our politics has been breached. Whether it can be patched before it sinks our ship of state is an open question. In a world beset by growing problems that require international solutions, this is not necessarily always a bad thing. Unfortunately, how such politics are now played, particularly with the Citizens United decision, the Dred Scott decision of our times, to allow unlimited dark money in politics no matter the source or the purpose, our Constitution no longer offers a set of rules to serve as bounds on how these new politics are to be played. Another major problem is that the concept of checks and balances inherent in our constitution take time to implement. With the world changing at “internet speed” and ecosystems upon which human life depends disappearing as we speak, this mechanism to guide our politics no longer keeps up with the challenges we face. Consequently, people opt for political expediency over the Golden Rule, justice, and the rule of law embodied in the Constitution itself.
Another area of Constitutional anachronism is the structure of the Senate, which gives a very small minority great leverage over the majority. Consequently, we have reached the point where one person, the Senate Majority leader can overrule the majority no matter how large. Such impediments greatly threaten the very notion of democracy itself. Ultimately, we are faced with either finding ways to amend our Constitution or run the risk of losing our nation to others with more contemporary adeptness in responding to the challenges humans face in our now ever more rapidly changing world. Whether we are up to the challenge, remains to be seen. However, one thing is clear. We are rapidly running out of time as global warming accelerates, as ecosystems upon which we depend for survival disappear, and as the consequent geopolitical squabbles get more and more intense.
