Name any major issue our country faces today. Big problems, the ones that can’t be solved individually, the ones causing harm to large sections of society. Now think of a time when we as a society took action and actually fixed it. Specifically, collective action through Congress as our legislative body.
Chances are that you can only come up with fewer items than you can count with one hand, and even those major actions left out something that’s a problem now.
What’s going on? Why is our country at a stand-still on issues like the gun violence epidemic, abortion rights, environmental protections, climate change, LGBTQ+ protections, fairer taxation, retirement, elder care, the soaring costs of healthcare, education, housing, child care—issues that all have major, uncontroversial support among the electorate according to polling. If we as a society all agree that we need action on issues, why do they go ignored by our leaders?
It’s a question that people on television often invoke when observing the current events in Congress and pointing to polling numbers. After all, Congress is supposed to create laws and act according to the Will of the People.
But what people fail to spot is that while Congress as a whole gets blamed for inaction, half of Congress—not without its flaws, mind you—does respond to the People.
But one body of Congress cannot act alone to pass laws.
US Senators are nothing more than a form of modern American aristocrats, entrenched with power in ways that make retaining power more likely than not, who can block a majority from ruling and acting even if a strong majority of the House passes a bill.
The Senate, therefore, is a vehicle for the powerful to veto just about anything in society. And the powerful have used it to do just that since its inception.
People as a matter of routine argue that this is a good thing, that the Senate prevents a tyranny of the majority. But instead, we are plagued by multiple unchecked tyrannies of the minority. And because problems mount and go unaddressed, society suffers for it and civil unrest foments.
THAT is the problem of the US Senate. In ignoring its duty to govern as years and decades pass, societal problems mount and ferment into social polarization and unrest, or worse.
This can no longer happen. Not with shooters murdering school children every month. Not with civil rights being overturned.
If the US Senate will not reform itself into a body that respects the American people, then the people will have to reform the Senate for it—as is our right in a democracy, to determine the terms of debate, deliberation, and action as a society. All we need is the wisdom to see what’s in front of us and the courage to ask one another if a better way is possible.
And there is a better one.
#AbolishTheSenate