We the People have been pushed to our limits. Today, a potentially record-breaking government shutdown has led to even more chaos and confusion on Capitol Hill and beyond, with congressmen shouting over one another, Democrats filming tone-deaf sketches to put on Tik Tok, and most recently infiltrating the Speaker’s gallery to make a statement. President Trump had no choice but to step in when troops risked missing out on paychecks, as the merit of the process of appropriations has been thrown into question and weighed against the idea of a quick back room deal that deprives us of our representation in the government.
We the People have experienced a lot. In the past 15 years, we have faced four government shutdowns, history-making examples of political violence, concerning coverups and bureaucratic scandals, to say the least. Yet, aside from President Trump’s historic 2024 election, this event may prove to be the most defining event of the decade, marking the beginning of events that will shape the 2026 midterm landscape, and setting the stage for either party to take the cake next November.
We the People are fed up. Whether the shutdown is one party’s fault over the other, or both caucuses are to be blamed, it is those with the least amount of influence who suffer most. Our elected officials increasingly place their own political journeys above our voice, and the commitment to do what is right. They lie to us as if they take us to be ignorant children who don’t know any better.
As the constituents, it is easy to place the entirety blame on the politicians themselves. After all, the position we appear to be in currently was articulated by James Madison, in his uniquely illustrative prose in Federalist 10:
“Men of factious tempers, of local prejudices, or of sinister designs, may, by intrigue, by corruption, or by other means, first obtain the suffrages, and then betray the interests of the people.”
Yet what we often forget about when denouncing the blunders and bungles of our elected representatives is who they were elected by, and who their political attitudes most closely represent. Therefore, in the midst of this calamity, I feel I bear the responsibility of breaking this horrible news, as it would be foolish for me to sit idly by, waiting for a politician to relieve me of this weight.
We the People are the ones to blame. It is our fault for falling victim to the throes of our passions that led us to elect the men who represent us (or fail to) at this moment.
The hankering for power will never cease for any generation. The assurance of a promising eternity will never suffice for those who are already enraptured by the claws of greed. The perils of a representative system, in which such a measure of political autonomy is granted to those in power, will always pierce the spirit of a good government.
Yet there is a reason that this representative system has endured for nearly two hundred and fifty years. It is the same reason why it appears to be unraveling at this moment in time. That reason is We the People.
Among all the criticisms modern Americans have of our founding fathers, I believe the most common (and offensive) is the idea that our framers were oblivious to a future with advanced technology and a completely different way of life.
Although omniscience is a trait that only God is capable of possessing, the founding fathers were incredibly aware of the nation America was to become, and when framing the Constitution, kept this idea at the forefront. This lucidity did not paralyze these men, as it would a regular citizen. Rather, it drove them to create the strongest political culture they possibly could, articulating and quelling every fear that materialized among them in the humid atmosphere of Independence Hall.
Despite the days of deliberation, hours of argument, and times of tension, these men remained united around the one idea that the people ought to be the battery of the political society. It is known that great power comes with great responsibility, and the more power the founders gave the people, the more the people were going to have to step up.
The burden of monarchy is the limitation on the people which prevents them from partaking in their government. However the equally humbling mandate of republicanism is its demand that the people lead the eternal fight for justice.
Madison, along with the other minds behind Publius, warned the people incessantly of the cross they will be made to bear, establishing the idea that the new Constitution will only be as formidable as her people are vigilant:
“If it be asked, what is to restrain the House of Representatives from making legal discriminations in favor of themselves and a particular class of the society? I answer: the genius of the whole system; the nature of just and constitutional laws; and above all, the vigilant and manly spirit which actuates the people of America - a spirit which nourishes freedom, and in return is nourished by it. If this spirit shall ever be so far debased as to tolerate a law not obligatory on the legislature, as well as on the people, the people will be prepared to tolerate anything but liberty.”
-James Madison, Federalist 57
On Punchbowl News’ new show Fly Out Day, House majority leader Steve Scalise seemed to mirror Madison’s hope when he said he believed the people wouldn't blame Republicans for the shutdown: “They themselves know there's a 60 vote requirement in the Senate,” and that the Republicans are the party supporting the bill, while Democrats are blocking it. But how many people do know the basic rule of the 60-vote threshold? How confident can we possibly be that the American electorate (composed of those who claim that the country was founded in the last century and that independence day has nothing to do with declaring our independence, as per man-on-the-street videos) knows basic constitutional principles? The number likely lies at a disquieting low.
While Scalise seems to have the same message as Madison, he appears to have more faith in the electorate than Madison ever had. Madison knew a system of, by, and for the people was possible, but wrote about it with great trepidation, not blind conviction.
At this point, it is well known that I prefer to end my pieces on a note of positivity, and leave readers with a subtle, yet tangible sense of the beauty in the world, yet I fear I have nothing to offer this time. This is not the end of the road if we choose to remain vigilant, but a bright future will come only with tireless work and a sense of dedication we may have never set out to act on in the past. I’m afraid the most positive thought I am able to claim without subscribing to the toxic optimism many politicians currently suffer from is this call to action:
In the story of human history, lust for power is and will remain a constant; it is the vigilance of those that decide to whom such power is granted that is subject to periods of anemia and of heartiness, and so may we never fail to continue the path forged for us across the last 250 years, and may we never shake the spirit our country relies on for her very goodness and existence, as goes Madison’s warning.
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