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On the heels of the historic impeachment day, it is important that we do not over-celebrate nor over-criticize. Simply, the impeachment of Trump affirms something significant but does not solve the underlying problem.
Throughout the hearings and debates, we've heard countless times about the need to uphold the U.S. Constitution and not allowing anyone to operate within this republic as a dictator or tyrant. That's all well and good. It is true that the U.S. Constitution does state that the House of Representatives has sole responsibility and authority to impeach the President. In such a case, the hope is that the members of the House will appropriately represent their constituents. Though that is the ideal, I think that we may have missed the mark in this instance.
So, how have we missed the mark? Is it not necessary for the various branches of government to serve as a checks and balances for each other? Is it not understood that each branch is separate in function but coequal in power? Is it not the responsibility of Congress to represent the views, wishes and hopes of a diverse people in America? Is it not the expectation that the President of these "united" states will maintain the interest of the masses above the classes? Is it not necessary to impeach a president who clearly is self-serving and unable to see the heart of people who do not look like him, think like him or feel like him? The answer to each of these questions ought to be in the affirmative. Yet, though these questions can be answered in the affirmative, the results of these hearings and the decision to impeach still miss the mark.
The fact that the impeachment vote is on the surface partisan at best, proves that the decision to impeach is not authentically representative of the people's desires. Did most of the people in America want the President impeached? Probably. But the fact that those elected to represent the people have allowed their party affiliation to guide their decision making as opposed to ethically carrying out the duties of their assigned office proves problematic. It is true that many democratic representatives have wanted Trump gone from the moment he won the election. It is true that many republican representatives have supported Trump from the outset of his presidency. In both instances, there is often a dismissal of factual evidence. Hence, during the impeachment hearings, the American public witnessed more raw emotion than meticulous discussion and debate about the evidence. Why? President Trump.
President Trump does not want evidence to be uncovered and discussed. That desire would have to come from a place of sound morality. Our president prefers to throw morality out of window when it is convenient, and, for that reason, his ethical compass remains dangerously askew. At every turn, he struggles to be human. He struggles to treat all people with respect and love. He struggles to appreciate the differences within society. He struggles to see the humanity in all people and, therefore, he struggles even more to see the divinity in everyone.
Simply, he seemingly lives in a fantasy world of his own construction and design with its rigid allowances for difference. Yet, this is exactly what this nation claims to have been founded on and for — respect for diversity.
In the Declaration of Independence, the framers wrote:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Based on the founding document of this nation, we are a diverse people with certain rights that are granted to us by our "Creator." We get that! But there is a phrase here which often goes overlooked or at least wrongly appropriated. The government should derive its powers from the "consent of the governed" to maintain "Safety and Happiness." When this is not happening effectively, it is the responsibility and the right of the people to "alter or abolish" the tainted government. Therefore, the impeachment of Trump is not the total solution. It is evident that those elected to represent the masses, particularly the Republicans, in this season, are more concerned about staying in Trump's good graces as opposed to the "Creator's" good graces by truly examining the toxic nature of this new wave of leadership in the White House.
Am I suggesting that there is a need for a complete overhaul? I'm not sure. But, am I suggesting that there is a definite need for altering the system? Definitely. I'm not confident in our ability to do so and, apparently, neither were the composers of the Declaration who stated, "all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."
The reality is that we tend to suffer through, as a nation, those moments in time and seasons of chaos, hatred, inequality and injustice. Perhaps there is a need to abandon that tendency in support of a new and needful direction.
At this moment is history, on the heels of an historic partisan impeachment vote within the House of Representatives, I hear the prophet Isaiah saying, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners…" (Isaiah 61:1). There is a reason the prophet's declaration is revisited centuries later by another prophetic voice, who boldly declares, "today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). Are we in a "today" moment? If so, who is willing to bend history toward justice and morality in this moment. Who is willing to press reset on this nation's ethically anemic governance? Who will take the next step? Is it you?
