Anarchy: a state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority or absence of government
and absolute freedom of the individual, regarded as a political idea.

The Preamble to the Constitution states: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote
the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

When the “Tea Party” movement started in 2008-09 it claimed to want a revolution and freedom from taxes. They emerged right as big donor money from the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, et al was a driving factor in campaigns. This was also at the cusp of the profound social changes wrought by Facebook and Twitter. This happens as satellite television gave people so many choices on what they wanted to hear, leading to nothing but talking heads of extreme ideas. It also happened at the same time as reality television was in full swing, where people screaming at each other became entertainment. Is it any wonder that a mere 10 years later our culture and environment is figuratively and literally in a state of shutdown?

Facebook wants its users to determine what are reliable news sources because they feel uncomfortable with deciding. College campuses have to issue warnings to freshman about college not being an “intellectual” safe space. But let’s be honest; it is not any one group or demographic  that cannot handle ideas, discussion, and compromise. The societal dysfunction that began around 2008 is now in full swing and includes the echelons of power in the United States.

Some of the Republican politicians  in Washington D.C., from the President to members of Congress, are anarchists. They do not care about a functioning government, nor do they care about setting a standard for political discourse. Whether they truly believe our government should function on a Darwinist framework or they just want a spot on news show, their goals and aims are selfish and do not represent the will of the people. See any poll that shows a significant majority of Americans want a fix for DACA and want to fund CHiP. But because there are members of Congress who take a hardline on DACA (because of racism? Because they want to be on Fox News?) and just want to oppose ideas they don’t agree with we now have a government shutdown. And to top it off, they want to scream and point fingers. That is anarchy ladies and gentlemen.

To be fair, the Democrats have their share of mistakes and often in the direction of sanctimony and government only for the sake of government. Too often Democrats claim programs cannot be changed, tweaked, and even discarded because they did not want to explain themselves for fear of not getting re-elected. And, beginning in the Bush 43 Presidency, the Democrats instituted some procedural changes (the so called “nuclear” option) because they wanted to govern by we-told-you-so rather than by actually governing. (That was not the case with the ACA, however; but that is another story.) I would not call it anarchy, but I would call it poor governing.

So here we are in 2018 with a government shutdown. First, Republicans control the Congress and the Presidency - at least in as much as they can control Trump. They have had a year and wasted six months trying to un-do the ACA despite indications that many Americans wanted the program to continue. After 8 years of ACA, and a good 10-12 years of “we need to fix healthcare”, the best they could offer was repeal. An absence of governing. Then they spent another six months working on tax reform and dramatically changing a tax structure while significantly increasing the deficit, the one thing they claimed for nearly 30 years they did not want to do! Basically they are cutting off the funding mechanism for every aspect of governing, and yet the Republican congress will continue to write checks based on the credit score of the American citizens! They refused to look at DACA and refused to fund CHiP, despite what the American people wanted. Nothing they have done in the last year is what the majority of Americans want. They rely on screaming, snide comments, and tweets just like this was a reality show!

But it isn’t a reality show. This is our country. This is the life of every single American. I am not naive enough to think that Democrats are perfect or that if they held the levers of power they would not return to sanctimony and untouchable government programs. So while I do identify as a Democrat this is not a pro-Democrat opinion. Rather, I am calling on all Americans to insist our member of Congress and our President turn away from anarchy and return to governing. I call on all Americans to hold our elected officials to account regardless of affiliation when they do what is wrong and detrimental to our domestic functions and our foreign policy. How? Call your Representatives and Senators. Email. Write. Then, get out and vote. The primaries are in March. Primaries choose the candidates for the general election. If you do not like the direction of Republican party towards anarchy, then PLEASE vote for responsible Republicans in March. If you want conscientious Democrats, then vote in March. Then vote your conscience in November. Insist on full disclosure from President Trump - his taxes and his campaign. Turn off the screaming heads on TV, and think critically about where you get your information. Talk to people who do not think like you do, but be respectful and considerate. And when you put your foot in your mouth  then apologize. Next, let us all insist on campaign finance reform. We the People can insist on an immediate return to an open government by demanding a CLEAN (single issue) DACA bill and a CLEAN CHiP bill, followed by a continuing resolution with a deadline to fix the rest of the budget. We the People need to demand that. And right now it is the Republicans who hold all levers of power. They are the ones who need to come to the table and abandon the cancer of anarchy that has overtaken their party.