On the closing day of the US Constitutional Convention in 1787, the fundamental governmental document guiding our nation was drafted. Pennsylvania delegate Dr. Ben Franklin was asked by a citizen, “Well, Doctor, what have we got…a Republic or a Monarchy?” Dr. Franklin replied: “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

Recent events raise that question even more than our nation’s most serious internal challenge, the Civil War. That tragic episode in American history risked breaking our country in two. But even the Civil War did not challenge the legal foundations by which our nation operates as much as President Trump is doing right now.

For those who may need some brushing up from their high school Civics classes, the US has never truly been a democracy, at least at the federal level. In a democracy, the citizens vote directly on all the issues/laws of the community. Ancient Greece, at least at some point, apparently operated as a democracy. We don’t do that here–nor would I, at least, want to. I’m relatively well-informed, but I don’t think I could make an intelligent decision on all the issues our country needs to deal with, from global warming to international relations to policies about emerging things like bitcoin and AI to medical regulation and so much more.

Instead, the US Constitution founded us as a Republic. In a Republic, we choose representatives to make those decisions. But our viewpoints are conveyed by voting for the person whose opinions and commitments most closely resemble our own.

Also, to review another critical component of our Civics education–the makeup of our federal system of government according to the our Constitution: we have three major components of our federal government. One is the legislative branch, which passes laws and establishes funding for governmental operations. That is the US Congress, broken up into the US Senate and the US House of Representatives. One is the executive branch, which executes or works out how to put the laws passed by Congress into actual operation. The executive branch is headed by the US President, elected every four years, but includes all the federal bureaucracy or departments and agencies that enact the laws. The President is also in charge of international relations and can declare war. And one is the legislative branch, which interprets the law and decides which side is right when there is disagreement about whether a law is legal under our Constitution and other laws and/or if the executive branch is enacting the law as intended by Congress. It also includes the entire court system that allows us to be judged by a jury of our peers when accused of a crime.

This is just background to say that the US President has a lot of power. I may not agree with President Trump’s decision to rid agencies of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) or approve of some (most) of his agency appointments or some of his foreign policy positions, but those are his prerogative as President (subject to approval by Congress, at least for appointments).

However, our government was designed as a system of checks and balances. So there are many things that the President–any President–CAN NOT do. It is President Trump’s interference in things the US President is prohibited from doing that concerns me the most.

The President’s job is to enact the laws passed by Congress. However, he (we have only had men in the role so far) MUST enact all laws without personal preference. He DOES NOT get to choose which laws he will ignore because he disagrees with them. He refuses to spend US money that Congress controls and has dismissed the projects and agencies he doesn’t like. That is unconstitutional. He doesn’t get to withhold approved money because it goes against his political agenda. But that is precisely what he is trying to do right now.

This is not new for President Trump. If you remember, his first impeachment was because he refused to give military aid to Ukraine, which Congress had approved. He demanded that the Ukrainians launch an investigation into his political opponent’s family. To their credit, Ukraine did not do this despite needing the money.

Under the Constitution, President Trump lacks the authority to dismiss agencies. He also cannot cut programs that Congress has voted to fund. He needs the approval of Congress to get rid of US AID. He also needs Congress’s approval to eliminate the Department of Education or the IRS.

He is trying to take on powers that go beyond his authority. Moreover, he is doing it through a surrogate, Elon Musk. Elon Musk is a billionaire, in part from US government contracts. He has never been elected to anything. He has never been appointed to any legitimate government position. I believe he has never even gotten a security clearance from our Intelligence Community. And yet, Musk has been given access to our US Treasury accounts. This access includes private information about ALL of us. It involves social security numbers, bank account numbers, and other sensitive data. Supposedly, that is so that he can deny US Treasury payments to people, organizations, and programs that he (and maybe Trump? but who knows) disapproves of.

EXCUSE ME! If the President is denied that power by the Constitution, this billionaire private citizen should certainly not be doing this. Musk announced that he was shutting down US AID, an agency created by and funded by Congress. Who is Elon Musk to do that? His only qualification for this position of power was his ability to give millions to President Trump’s campaign. He also threatened to pour his millions into opposing candidates to anyone who stands up to President Trump.

Make no mistake. This is an assault on our personal privacy and ability to trust the government with our private information. It is also an assault on our Constitutional separations of power.

Basically, President Trump is not content with being President. He wants to be King. He wants to do whatever he wants without interference from other government components. As a Republican, he has a narrow majority in both houses of Congress and on the Supreme Court. But even with these advantages, he is unwilling to follow our Constitutional process. Congress should decide when to remove funding or eliminate agencies.

And so we return to Dr. Franklin’s comment 238 years ago. Can we keep our Republic? Or are we going to stand by as President Trump tries to become King Trump and hands over not only policy decisions but also our personal information to Elon Musk?

The US Constitution starts with the words “We the People of the United States.” Our Founding Fathers believed that rights resided with every individual. They did not believe these rights were with “the government” or “the leaders” or even “the President”. And I, at least, still believe that is where rights belong.

So if you are concerned about these developments, what should you do? In an earlier post, I wrote about how President Trump was trying to use a Shock and Awe approach to just bulldoze all of his opposition (click here to read that post). But I think it is time for us to Shock and Awe/Activate back.

What if we focused on objecting to this unconstitutional grab of power? Instead of making great new appetizer recipes, cute pet videos, or whatever meme that becomes viral, we use our efforts for political change. What if we could get thousands or millions of Americans to contact our legislative representatives to oppose President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s illegal and unconstitutional actions?

This week, I wrote to my Congressional representative about standing up to this assault on our system. I urge those concerned about this situation to do so as well. You can email your federal representatives via https://www.congress.gov or call them at (202) 224-3121. Let’s flood them all with emails and phone calls about how worried we are about our Constitutional rights. Let’s believe the system will work if we, the people, tell our representatives that this is not the way America works.

Part of my bliss is speaking up when I know something is wrong. After doing what I know is mine to do, I go back to enjoying how wonderful it is to be alive (click here for my post about “Don’t Forget to Be Blissfull” post).

Follow your heart. If you are OK with all this, ignore everything I’ve said above. If you are not, then do something. Then move on. Bliss can be as simple as that—if we can stick to it. I do better some days than others. Even through all this, I still experience more bliss than despair.

However, my own life experience and our country’s future mean enough to me to speak out against what I see as an attack on our nation’s fundamental principles. If you feel the same way, I hope you will use your voice as well.