RESIST, YES—BUT RESIST WHOM?

“Dark days ahead for the United States as a result of the Presidential Election, 2016.” This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Bee Certain.

In the terrifying Alice-in-Wonderland days of a new President with little understanding of the Constitution and no respect for principles of social justice, the slogan RESIST has gone viral, as well it should. The big questions are: RESIST WHOM? RESIST HOW?

Although the focus has been on Donald Trump, who so far has seemed to attract adoration and loathing in large quantities, but has many pundits have increasingly pointed out, Trump is a symptom and an outcome of problems that have been besieging the American political system for generations.

The millions of Americans who are horrified by Donald Trump as President need to address the factors that led to his (mis)election and that could enable him to put his noxious plans into effect.

Some very good advice on this issue comes from an article entitled “How to stop an autocracy” by Ezra Klein on Vox .

Klein’s thesis is that “The danger isn’t that Trump will build an autocracy; It’s that Congressional Republicans will let him.” And the threat is not autocracy but “partyocracy.”

Klein offers some excellent insight into the wisdom and intentions of the creators of the Founding Fathers, and an extensive analysis of david Frum’s Atlantic article  “How to build an autocracy”

In his discussion of the role of the U.S. Constitutional separation of powers in curbing excesses by the Executive Branch, Klein tips his hat to authorities in the Judicial system who are challenging the legality of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts; however, he puts particular emphasis on the corrective balance that could be exercised the legislative branch–i.e., Congress.

One of Klein’s main concerns, which he believes the Founding Fathers failed to anticipate, is the pernicious effect on checks and balances that can accrue in a rigidly two-party system in which the goal of each party is essentially to pursue its own agenda and try to subvert the other party.

Looking for ways to resist the Trump agenda? I recommend that you read Klein’s full article and send your comments about it to this post on engaging peace.