An Open Letter From One Voter
The reason for my open letter is because I haven't seen any public discussions about the ability, and the duty of Congress to add more Justices to our Supreme Court for the purpose of adding a check to what is supposed to be a balanced government. One that is truly representative of its citizens.
The ultimate check and balance of any democracy is a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” as President Abraham Lincoln patriotically declared in his famous Gettysburg Address.
Being that the size of the Supreme Court is determined by the Congress, then by extension it is ultimately determined by the people.
The Supreme Court is supposed to be impartial as is any individual judge on any court. However, in practice that impartiality has never really been in effect. The hard truth is that our Supreme Court is partisan, and it always will be despite claims to the contrary.
But a partisan Supreme Court isn't the problem as long as its decisions reflect the will of the majority. Up to a point, that is. After all, at one point our country's leadership favored slavery. They also favored Japanese Internment camps. They also favored overly broad restrictions of our civil liberties when fear engaged us after the terrorist attacks of September, 11, 2001.
So the Supreme Court should be partisan to our Constitution, and it should be partisan to the will of the majority as long as that will does not abrogate that Constitution.
Obviously, our country's beginnings weren't without mistakes. One only needs to be reminded about the second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence in the part that reads, “all men are created equal” when it should have read, “all people are created equal” in that section.
But I didn't publish this open letter for the purpose of perfecting our flawed system of government. That would be an impossible task given our human nature to make mistakes. I simply wanted to remind people that we have a duty, and an obligation to elect politicians who will truly represent the majority, and who will do their very best to recognize the mistakes we've made as a country so that those mistakes can be corrected.
For those of you who are racist or sexist, and for those of you who are homophobic or xenophobic, yes, I am calling you out for not being a true patriot. A true patriot would support a democracy that is a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
That brings me back to the point of possibly adding Justices to the Supreme Court to put a check on bad decisions that have harmed us, and to balance our politics to reflect a bi-partisan consensus of how we the people deserve to be governed.
That possibility
exists for good reason, which is why I'll advocate for its progressive
implementation if our government's leadership continues to shamefully
embrace fascism ever elects a President like Donald Trump again.
Author:
Bill Myers
Author's Email: Bill@MyersProductions.com
Original Date of Publication: Monday, July 9, 2018 (updated on Friday, April 30, 2021)
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