Category Archives: Culture

January 6, 2021

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I am heartbroken, but not surprised that this will be the legacy of the Trump presidency. I was saddened when he was elected, and I voiced several of those concerns on that day with the prayer and hope that I was wrong. I have prayed for him to grow into the role of President, to understand the magnitude of the responsibility he carried on his shoulders, that those around him would be able to give him good counsel that he may steward the responsibility of the office. Yet, throughout his four years in office he has maintained his belligerent tone when addressing the nation enhancing the polarization already present in our political discourse.

January 6 in the Christian calendar is Epiphany, the day when traditionally the magi arrive to honor the child Jesus after the revelation of his birth by a star. But the word epiphany can also mean:

3 a (1)A usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something

                (2) an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking

                (3) an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure

                3b. a revealing scene or moment. From Miriam-Webster.com

This is, I believe, a revealing scene or moment in the life of our country and about the danger of continuing to allow there to be no consequences for those who have impeded the transition of power from President Trump to President Elect Biden. The narrative of election fraud which is spoken on media from new programs to talk shows to social media pages by public officials and those who are associated with them without demonstrated proof of that election fraud needs to stop. It may make for good fundraising or for good ‘entertainment’ which exploits peoples’ fears and anxieties but we need to state honestly that this is radicalizing a portion of our population in the same way that Islamic extremists have radicalized people to become terrorists. This is strong language and I own that, but when we look at the actions at the capital today it moves well beyond the boundaries of protest. The people who entered the capital building are at least rioters and at worst domestic terrorists.

It has been common to wrap religious language around our secular symbols: the flag becomes sacred when people feel that it is dishonored for example. If we want to use religious symbolism as a metaphor to talk about our national symbols, then we need to also be willing to state that what happened today was (to use the language of Daniel, Mark, Matthew, and Luke) a desolating sacrilege or blasphemy of the central symbols and actions of our democracy. The breaking into the capital building and the disruption of the certification of the election by a mob incited by a president in his last two weeks in office should be viewed as an attack on one of our three primary branches of government fulfilling its constitutional duty. The dishonoring and in some cases looting that went on in the capital building was a jarring symbol of disrespect towards the symbolic building and the government it represents.

I know that we have not seen the dying gasp of ‘Trumpism’ or of right-wing conspiracies, but I do believe that the United States is better than this. I hope this can be a revealing moment where we see the essential nature or meaning of what this type of politics and rhetoric leads to. For those who have lifted up Trump as the savior of Christianity, or in some cases using explicitly ‘messianic’ language, may we have the realization that what we have is a false Christ/messiah propped up by false prophets.

This should never have happened. This is the reason that in previous elections there is a concession speech, even in a contested election like the 2000 election which was decided at the supreme court Vice President Al Gore conceded so that the country could move on and president elect George W. Bush could begin transition and ultimately governing. I have always advocated that the words and actions of leaders have power and because they have power they should also bear consequences when they undermine the symbols, structures and ultimately the good of the nation they swear an oath to serve.

The Wisdom of Myth

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Adrift by Locopelli at deviantart.com

In our modern arrogance we wanted to demythologize the world
Science and rationality became our new gods, but now they served us
Creation became merely resources for consumption turned to capital
Capitalism became the religion of the new age, money became meaning
Wisdom was abandoned for data and people became means to profit

Yet, I continue to seek the wisdom of myth, the reason of religion
Returning to the songs passed through the ages that taught us to sing
The yearning of our ancestors for a story that tells where we came from
That gives us a frame to understand who we are in relation to the world
Common stories that give meaning, that bear some ancient knowledge

Were the myths misused in the past to divide and to destroy, yes
Just as science, rationality and capitalism have all been used to enslave
And there is no going back to some imagined past before our postmodern age
Perhaps in listening again not only to these stories and the world they imagine
But also, to the society they tried to form and the wonder the inspired

How creatures of creation came to understand their place in a world of magic
A porous world where the divine and the demonic were not far from the surface
A world saturated by meaning through the stories that shaped the people
Perhaps they were merely the ruminations of old men or the tales of women
The ravings of a misunderstood prophet or the songs of kings and queens

And though it is the path overgrown with weeds, I still try to traverse
This quest for wisdom in the myths of our ancestors, the sense in the stories
Which might help me to use the data and science of our time in ways humane
To see the creation beyond the consumption, the people behind the profit
To seek a society where my children can know both knowledge and wisdom
Myth and math, story and science, money and meaning, and so I seek

A Conversation Between Pastor Neil White and Pastor Chris King on Racism, Faith and Hope

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This is a conversation that I made available for both my congregation and the Frisco Interfaith Alliance between myself and Pastor Chris King. As a white pastor and leader of a primarily white congregation I felt it was important to begin with listening in this moment.

 

Why Story Matters: A Reflection Based On Love Never Dies

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I had the opportunity last week to see Love Never Dies, designed as a sequel to the Phantom of the Opera and it prompted this reflection on story. The cast did a wonderful job performing, the music was great, I really enjoyed the scenery and the idea of the phantom working within a circus amidst a collection of grotesqueries was very intriguing and yet it didn’t work. The story didn’t line up with the identity of the characters that came in the original Phantom of the Opera. In the original Phantom the relationship from Christine’s perspective is one of fascination at times, at times she conflates the identity of the phantom and her father, she frequently fears and is at times confused by her relationship to this character but from her side there is never any indication of love. Even in the final act there is a song where Christine defiantly states “Have you purged yourself at last of your lust for blood, am I now to be free to your lust for flesh” to which the phantom answers “this fate which condemned me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh.” Christine can express compassion and pity but there is never an indication of romantic or sexual love. Yet in Love Never Dies the assumption is there that there was a) romantic love from Christine’s side b)that the phantom fled from her when he had a chance at the relationship and c) (spoiler alert) that it produced a child who is a central to the plot of the second musical. In short here (and in other places) the story didn’t work and so everything else couldn’t make the production anything more than a flawed story with good music and some good elements. Story matters. I had some thoughts that a story set ten years later when the relationship between Raoul and Christine has cooled and nostalgia set in had some possibilities to become something but in this case the disjunction between the original story and the sequel were too great. The original story has the privilege of setting up the rules, the nature of the characters and the storyline which the sequel must be compatible with. Love Never Dies could only be successful in my view by taking a long look at the story and the characters who are a part of it.

Making Kylo Ren Believable Again

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kylo-ren_fa163069

There were several things the first time I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens that I struggled with, partially because I have enough of a science background that it bothers me when science fiction ignores the science component, but by the second viewing I was able to relax some of those concerns and enjoy the film a little more. Yet, one of the things that I remarked after seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the first time when it was released in 2015 was that Kylo Ren, the central antagonist was a weak and ineffective villain. While there were elements of the character that I liked. I could appreciate the effort of trying to create a more complex villain than Darth Vader initially appeared in the original trilogy. Yet, the petulant and insecure Kylo Ren just didn’t feel like a figure that could be the type of leader and physical representation of the First Order that Darth Vader was for the Galactic Empire. Scenes where his temper would cause him to lose control and, for example, destroy a whole set of panels on a starship simply because he received news he didn’t want portrayed a person who shouldn’t be entrusted with the level of authority he was invested with. I had trouble believing in 2015 that anyone would give such an instable individual the type of control that Kylo Ren was given over people, resources and place him in a position of being a figurehead for a credible threat.  I need to admit that now in 2017 I was wrong, Kylo Ren became a compelling villain because in 2016 we put a leader in place who displayed many of the same characteristics.

Kylo Ren continually looks back upon an idealized past where his grandfather, Darth Vader, was the figurehead of a strong empire ruled over by a powerful and cruel emperor. The empire’s brand of peace and justice was carried out through military domination and two planet killer weapons of mass destruction ominously called Death Stars. Attempting to live into this legacy and turning away from the legacy of his parents and teachers he becomes a fallen but flawed character. Continually dominated by his emotions, occasionally effective but often erratic, he needs the continual guidance of the ominous Supreme Leader Snoak.

What seemed an unbelievable character in fiction two years ago is far too familiar now. Others may not have seen it during his campaign but I could already tell that Donald Trump did not possess the temperament for the unbelievably challenging task of leading the United States in a complex and evolving world. Yet, Trump too relied upon some idealized version of simpler past that never truly existed the way he imagined it (nor would he ever define when he thought America was great). If a small fractions of the leaks coming out of the White House are true then we can see the result of living with a leader who can react unpredictably to the slightest provocation and appears to be completely involved with his own image and problems unwilling to engage the difficult work of making policy except by twitter and the hastily crafted executive order. The only question remains who is the person behind the scenes attempting to manage the actions of this unpredictable leader-is it the shadowy Steve Bannon or is it the equally sinister Vladamir Putin or maybe Trump really is the wildcard who is uncontrollable and until he is stopped we will continue walking on eggshells wondering what the next day will bring. Regardless it has made one fictional villain more believable to me, perhaps a small consolation but one has to laugh where one can.

Understanding the Constitution of the United States: Article II the Executive Branch

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Image of the U.S. Constitution from http://wvconstitutionaladvocates.com/u-s-constitution/

Image of the U.S. Constitution from http://wvconstitutionaladvocates.com/u-s-constitution/

The second article of the Constitution of the United States is significantly shorter than the first article and processes of election and succession (in section 1) were modified by the twelfth and twenty-fifth amendments. The structure of the constitution does not allow for unchecked power by any of the branches of government. The executive branch is limited by the laws passed and their interpretation by the judicial branch. We are seeing this play out in the opening days of the Trump administration where executive orders cannot override existing laws and a federal judge can execute a stay or prevent enforcement of an executive order that contradicts other laws and the legislative branch has the authority to pass a law which would supersede an executive order. The Constitution can be viewed here among several other places. What follows is an explanation of this fairly short article.

Section 1: Vesting, Election and Succession

The Vesting Clause:

This first clause of the article has been viewed differently by different presidents about the amount of Executive Power that has been vested in the President of the United States. Certain privileges are reserved by the Legislature or the Supreme Court in Articles I or III, but ultimately the Executive Branch is charged with the execution and enforcement of the laws that are passed by the Legislative Branch. Each of the branches of government are vested with specified powers as a part of the constitution’s balance of power. The specified powers of the President of the United States are listed in Section 2 below. There is no reading of the U.S. Constitution that could support the statements made by Stephen Miller, an advisor to President Trump, who stated that “the powers of the president…are very substantial and will not be questioned.”

The remainder of Section 1 concerns the practical matters like:

– the process of election of a president (which was modified by the Twelfth Amendment after the 1800 election of Thomas Jefferson where he and his running mate received the same number of votes. The Twelfth Amendment establishes our current system of Electoral College election)

– the qualifications required to be a President: natural born citizen (since no one alive today was alive at the time of the adoption of the constitution, which is how the first Presidents were eligible), at least 35 years old and having lived as a resident of the United States for at least fourteen years.

-What to do in the case of the removal, death, resignation or inability of a president to fulfill their duties (modified by the Twenty Fifth Amendment to increase the specificity on how this process would unfold)

-Compensation for the President, currently $400,000 per year, and while the President serves they are not able to receive any other payment from either a state or the federal government.

-Finally the oath of office is outlined: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability,  preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Section 2: Powers of the President of the United States

The President is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and has the power to employ the U.S. Military (Active, Reserve and when called into federal service the National Guard which when not federalized is controlled by the state governors). The President does not have the power to declare war, that is specifically reserved to the Legislative Branch (Article 1, Section 8) and the Legislative branch is the only branch that can authorize the funds for military action outside the budget but the President is charged with the execution of any use of the military.

May require (the Opinion) of any of the members of an Executive department. The cabinet, which oversees the various executive department, as well as organizations like the CIA, FBI, ATF, Secret Service, EPA, and many others ultimately report to the President.

May grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses except in the case of impeachment. With the resignation of Michael Flynn, where he may still face prosecution the President could pardon (although that would raise a number of questions.) President Ford famously pardoned Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974 which he was able to do since Nixon resigned prior to impeachment proceedings.

Power to make treaties, with the advice and consent of the senate. The senate must ratify any treaties but the president and the executive branch negotiate the treaties.

Shall nominate, with advice and consent of the senate, ambassadors, public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court and all other officers of the United States. When President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the supreme court the legislative branch exercised a very strong (and controversial) reading of the advice and consent clause in refusing to hear the nomination in an election year. There are a number of federal judgeships that do go unfilled because the nominees do not clear the senate.

President may fill all vacancies that happen during the recess of the senate by granting commissions that shall expire at the end of the next session.

Section 3: State of the Union and the Power of Recommendation

The first clause of this section is the origin of the annual State of the Union addresses that the President makes to Congress, and by extension to the American people.

The President does not make laws but does recommend to congress measures the president judges necessary, this is why the budget process often begins with the recommendations of the executive branch.

The President may convene both houses or either house in extraordinary occasions (like a declaration of war or the need for emergency legislation) and may, in a case where the congress cannot decide when to adjourn, adjourn the congress (a power no President has ever used).

As the person responsible for negotiating with foreign governments, the President will receive ambassadors and other public ministers.

He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed. Ultimately this is the heart of the function of the executive branch.

Finally, the President shall commission all officers of the United States.

Section 4: Impeachment

President, Vice President and all civil officers of the U.S. shall be removed from office on impeachment for: Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The process of impeachment is laid out in Article I, Section 3.

Star Wars, National Identity and the Seduction of the Dark Side

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takeheraway-anh

I was five years old when Star War: The New Hope (or Episode IV) was released and as a child I watched it countless times. I anxiously awaited each new chapter in this space opera which would become for many one of the great American stories. I grew up wanting to be Luke Skywalker, being able to wield the force and fly in X-Wing Starfighters and I believe many of my peers wanted to be either Luke or Han Solo or Princess Leia. Yet, there has been a trend I am noticing more and more lately and I think it says something about our society. In a narrative about the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker there has become an increasing fondness for the fallen Anakin, or Darth Vader and the Empire which he serves.

I never reflected on this phenomenon until recently. Admittedly the Stormtroopers and Darth Vader had the cooler costumes with their skeletal look. Yet one of the reasons for portraying these soldiers in this manner was to reinforce the message of the Empire they served, one of fear. I enjoyed the occasional video of Darth Vader and his troopers dancing to M.C. Hammer as it combined pieces of my childhood. Yet, the movies continually presented the Galactic Empire and its forces, or the First Order in Episode VIII, as forces that needed to be rebelled against. Lucas intentionally or unintentionally tapped into the piece of the American narrative that rebelled against an English empire in the Eighteenth Century that was perceived by the colonists as oppressive. The movies wanted us to identify with the Rebellion for all their flaws. Yet, somehow in culture something shifted, at least partially.

The movies and the literature and other media they spawned, with all their successes and flaws, presented a worldview that many Americans embraced.  Yet, for at least a portion of the American audience there was the shift in alliances. Perhaps I should have noticed the increased use of the Imperial March with its brassy statement of power and control being used by high schools and colleges within football games and other sporting events. Perhaps the emergence of things like the 501st legion which was committed to cos-play using Stormtrooper, Sith Lord or Clone Trooper costumes should have been something I noticed. Yet, it wasn’t until last summer when Benjamin Burnley from the band Breaking Benjamin, who I knew was an avid fan of many pop culture items like the Star Wars series, launched into a praise of the First Order/Galactic Empire to play the imperial march that I began to wonder, “do we know what we are rooting for?”

Ultimately a rock musician loving the Imperial March or a bunch of people creating Stormtrooper costumes for fun is not something that I worry about too much. Yet, when we begin to embrace the ideals and policies behind the Galactic Empire it does become extremely worrisome. When Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s chief advisor can remark, “Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That’s power.” The peace and order throughout the galaxy in the movies was only achieved, temporarily, by the use of fear and military power that had no moral qualms with destroying entire worlds that disagreed with their policies or were merely inconvenient. Our current administration campaigned on the rhetoric of fear, and has continued to govern using that rhetoric. When a nation that has struggled throughout its life to become a place where “all men (and women) are created equal” begins to be governed in a way that appears increasing xenophobic (much as the Empire’s policies were portrayed) I worry about the image we are attempting to mold ourselves into.

I grew up in the 1970s and 80s, during a time when there was a fear of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact which existed behind the iron curtain. It was a group of nations that had an enormous military and was equipped with a massive nuclear arsenal. Within the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact there was not the free press or the ability to protest that the United States and its NATO allies enjoyed. In the 80s it was easy to paint the Soviet Union as the ‘evil empire’ and at least for a young boy they became the concrete manifestation of the Galactic Empire within the Star Wars narrative. I still remember hearing Ronald Regan challenge Mikhail Gorbachev, “Mister Gorbachev tear down this wall!” When the Soviet Union collapsed and the Berlin Wall did fall, when former Warsaw Pact nations like East Germany and Poland as well as pieces of the former Soviet Union like Estonia and Latvia became a part of the NATO alliance I think we found ourselves at an identity crisis without the same type of massive enemy. Afghanistan and Iraq, where our forces have been deployed most recently, were no match conventionally for the United States military. When a nation with the best equipped military and an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction begins to use the rhetoric of fear on its own citizens as well as our allies throughout the world, when we begin to become the ones talking about building a wall, and when we begin to close ourselves off from others because of race or religion then our fragile American experiment is at risk of becoming a different vision.  When we American power comes from fear rather than projecting ‘certain unalienable rights’ that our founders claimed then we have lost our way. Darth Vader (as well as Satan) may represent power but not a power that I would be willing to align myself with.  If that is what our republic becomes then it will be indeed time for a rebellion to arise within our nation again. I, like many, hope that the rebellion if it occurs is done peaceable and through protest, mobilization, and voting. Again, this is one of those places where I pray that I am wrong, but through the stories of my youth and my faith I have a very different vision for this country than I fear our current administration does.

Understanding the Constitution of the United States: Article 1 Section 9-10 Limiting the Powers of Congress and the Individual States

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Image of the U.S. Constitution from http://wvconstitutionaladvocates.com/u-s-constitution/

Image of the U.S. Constitution from http://wvconstitutionaladvocates.com/u-s-constitution/

These final two sections limit both the powers of the congress in passing laws as well as the powers of individual states as they construct their state constitution and legal systems.

Section 9:

The first clause of section 9 is now obsolete but it prevented the congress from interfering with the slave trade until 1808 but did allow for the taxation of the slave trade. The constitution is not a perfect document nor were the founders perfect. This is one of the places where we see the necessity of being able to amend the constitution.

The writ of habeas corpus prevents unlawful detention or imprisonment except in cases of rebellion or invasion.  President George W. Bush’s administration attempted to argue that this provision allowed for the detainees at Guantanamo Bay outside the jurisdiction of habeas corpus but the Supreme Court overturned this action in the case of Boumediene vs. Bush.

The congress cannot pass a bill of attainder where a person or group can be declared guilty of some crime and punished without a trial.

The congress cannot establish a uniform tax on individuals based only on their count within the census, taxes can be based upon income and other factors but there is no tax merely for being within the United States.

No tax can be passed on commerce between states.

No preference shall be given to imports entering in one state’s ports over another’s and vessels traveling from one state to another must not be made to pay duties or tariffs to another.

No money may be withdrawn from the treasury except through the sequence of appropriations and laws and an accounting of the receipts and expenditures of the U.S. government must be published.

No title or nobility shall be granted by the United States and no person in office shall accept any gift, salary, office or title from a foreign government without the consent of congress.

Section 10: Limiting the Power of Individual States

States may not:

– enter into treaties, alliances or confederations

-print their own coin

– pass any bill of attainder (see section 9)

-pass any law that makes something that was legal when it occurred punished as illegal after a new law has been passed

-grant any titles of nobility

-impose duties on imports or exports (except to provide for the execution of the state’s inspection laws)

-Lay a duty of tonnage (a fee for being able to use a port)

-keep troops or ships of war

– Enter into agreements or compacts with other states or foreign powers or engage in war.

 

The Irrational Pieces of Our Identity: A Reflection on the Departure of the San Diego Chargers

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la-chargers

Today I’m heartbroken. It isn’t for any particularly rational reason. Others today are worrying that they may lose their health coverage as congress continues its movement to repeal the ACA (Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare to its foes). Some are worried about the approval hearings for many of the Trump cabinet picks who if approved may prove threatening to their civil rights. Both of those are rational fears that some of my friends have today. Yet, today my heartbreak comes from that irrational part of my identity that comes from that almost tribal affiliation that a person has with a sports team. For those who enjoy sports it can be an uplifting and heartbreaking drama as you root for a team, a place, individual players and ultimately you give something of yourself to them. My affiliation has been irrational from the beginning. Even though I have never lived in San Diego, have only been in their stadium once and have only visited the city a couple of times I have been a San Diego Chargers fan for decades. How did a person who grew up in Texas and who has never lived on the West Coast end up rooting for a California team? I’ve told the story to many people, and I believe it is true, that I really think that sometime in my preteen or teenage years I decided I liked the uniform. Growing up in Texas in the 80s, and now living in Frisco, Texas where the Dallas Cowboys have their training facility I should, by all rights, be a Dallas Cowboys fan but somehow through living in Louisiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and once again in Texas that loyalty has stuck. I have rooted for individual players like LaDainian Tomlison or Philip Rivers. I have wanted to like their coaches even though by the end of both Norv Turner and Mike McCoy’s tenures I was beginning to lose patience. I rooted for them to get the new stadium that someday I dreamed of being able to finally afford a trip to San Diego and tickets to a game to enjoy. Even though I have multiple jerseys, many shirts and hats and have paid to have coverage of their games here I know that I am not the type of fan that finances NFL teams anymore. Yet, even still, some part of my irrational identity was and to some level still is invested in them.

The decision to move the San Diego Chargers away from the city of San Diego after 56 years must have been a difficult one and I can at some detached level understand the frustration the team’s ownership has felt for the last several years attempting to find a way to build a stadium that is comparable to the other stadiums that are either built or being built across the NFL, not to mention the large stadiums built for college teams. I do believe that part of the appeal for me with the Chargers was San Diego and not only the beautiful location of the city and the tourist orientation of the city but also the similarities between it and my city I grew up in, San Antonio. Both are military cities, San Antonio is an Air Force/Army city while San Diego is Navy/Marine Corps, both have tourism as primary industries and both were large enough to support a professional team and yet still small enough to feel smaller than the Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and even the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex where I currently live. I like rooting for the smaller market team, it felt a little like rooting for the underdog. I suppose having lived on the opposite side of Louisiana from New Orleans I could’ve picked up rooting for the Saints in the early 90s, or living in southern Wisconsin in 2002-03 I could’ve picked up rooting for the Packers. I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of a new team arriving since I lived in Oklahoma City when the Thunder arrived and they became one of the teams I rooted for and at times I would feel torn as they played the Spurs which I grew up rooting for.

What comes next for this unsettled irrational piece of my identity? At this point I don’t know. Perhaps as this year unfolds it will become clearer. Will I become the fan of the LA Chargers that I have been of the San Diego Chargers or will I migrate to some other team and some other group of players? I enjoy the game and the strategy of football and the level of play that is a part of the professional game so I doubt I’ll stop watching all together. But there is a sense of loss today. I can only imagine what those who live in San Diego and who regularly attended the games, even over the last couple dismal seasons, must feel.

Dan Fouts, the hall of fame San Diego quarterback said today that “the San Diego Chargers are dead” and today that is what it feels like. I was fortunate to have them going through one of their great stretches in a challenging time in my personal life and my career and I have a lot of memories of coming home and looking forward to that three to four hours where I could plug into their game with thousands of other fans and root for them in a time where they dominated the AFC West. Even the past two years with all the injuries and inconsistencies I have doggedly seen the potential in this team which seemed to fight hard each game, even when they seemed to find uncanny ways to lose in the end. I’m not going to go out and throw away my Chargers gear, at least not at this point but I am frustrated. I know that at the end of the year I intentionally did not buy any new jerseys or hats or gear knowing that this might happen. Like many in the San Diego Chargers tribe there is a sense of being heartbroken, betrayal and grief. Ultimately life will go on, but as with all grief it changes things.

Understanding the Constitution of the United States: Article 1, Section 8: The Powers of the Congress

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Image of the U.S. Constitution from http://wvconstitutionaladvocates.com/u-s-constitution/

Image of the U.S. Constitution from http://wvconstitutionaladvocates.com/u-s-constitution/

Section 8: Powers of the Legislative Branch

People often blame the President of the United States for the national debt, and while there are some places where the executive branch does influence and in some cases (war for example) cause spending it is the legislative branch that is responsible for taxation, borrowing money and establishing the budget. The first several of the enumerated powers of the legislative branch deal explicitly with this:

The congress is to:

-To Collect Taxes, duties, imposts and excises to provide income for the federal government

-To borrow money on the credit of the United States

-To regulate commerce with foreign nations and internally

The congress establishes the tax code, sets any fees and duties for goods imported into the country as well as fees for the use of federal resources. Congress is responsible for borrowing money, and this has been an issue recently when the congress has shut down the government by refusing to borrow money or to pass a budget. When these actions have downgraded the credit rating of the U.S. government it also is the congress’ responsibility. Congress is responsible for trade within the United States and across the borders and the states are heavily limited in their ability to impact interstate or international trade in ways that would be an impediment for other states (see section 10).

The next enumerated power deals with how a person becomes a citizen of the United States. The executive branch can, for example, make a case for comprehensive immigration reform but ultimately it is the House of Representatives and Senate who is empowered to set the rules for how a person can legally become a citizen. The system as we have it today, with all of its flaws, is a result of the decisions of the legislative branch.

The next set of enumerated powers deals with the currency of the United States which also falls under the responsibilities of the congress. As enumerated in the constitution:

-The congress establishes laws on the subject of bankruptcies

-The congress has the power to coin money, or to determine how much money is printed in the United States and the value of that currency as well as establishing the standards for weights and measurements used in trade and commerce

-The congress is also responsible for protecting the integrity of the currency of the U.S. by providing for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and coin of the U.S.

Bankruptcy came into the United States system from its precursor in the English code of law, although as it developed in the United States it moved from being a quasi-criminal act to being a system to allow businesses and individuals to focus on repaying the debts after suffering a heavy loss. U.S. bankruptcy code has been amended several times, most recently with the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. The congress also determines how much money the U.S. Mint will print and what the value of that currency is. The value of U.S. currency is based upon the trust of the people for the government, not on any gold or silver or other standard. Even without a gold standard the U.S. currency has traditionally been viewed as a safe commodity and a standard currency for trade throughout the world. The congress also is responsible for ensuring that the weights and measures used for trade throughout the country are consistent so that a bushel in Texas is the same as a bushel in Wisconsin for example. Finally they are responsible for ensuring that the currency of the United States is not counterfeited. This is done in multiple ways, through the elaborate design of U.S. currency and through law enforcement agencies like the Secret Service.

The next two enumerated powers also are related to the promoting commerce, communications and providing a place where intellectual property is protected

-They are responsible for establishing the postal system and the roads that the postal system will use.

-They are to promote the progress of science and the arts by providing a trademark and copyright system to protect the investment of scientists and artists in their writings and discoveries.

In creating a postal system and a network of roads for inexpensive communication helped to facilitate the nations expansion westward. The establishment of trademark and copyright law also was instrumental in the ability of intellectual property to be protected. Trademark law, mainly defined under the Lanham act, prevented the use of source-identifying mark by another to utilize that brand’s name or popularity. For example, if you purchase a pair of shoes with the Nike swoosh on it you are anticipating that it was designed, manufactured and marketed by Nike and is not an imitation. Copyright law protects the intellectual property and is defined in the Copyright act of 1976.

-They constitute tribunals (courts) lower than the supreme court. In recent years this has become an area of struggle between the two parties and between the executive branch. Congress has frequently held lower courts vacant rather than hold hearings on candidates that the executive branch recommended that they didn’t want to act upon. Yet, the constitution of the lower courts is an important part of the ideal of establishing justice and insuring domestic tranquility as outlined in the preamble of the constitution.

Most of the remaining enumerated powers relate to providing for the common defence:

-They define and punish piracy and felonies committed at sea

-They have the power to declare war, approve treaties and penalties after a war and establish the rules concerning prisoners captured in war

-They provide for the funding of the U.S. military (both Army and Navy are established in the constitution)

-They also create the laws that the military forces operate under (the Uniform Code of Military Justice)

-They also provide for the calling forth of a militia (the original military of the United States had a very small professional army/navy very different than the U.S. Military’s current structure but this is where the National Guard/Reserve components of the military come from). The congress is also responsible for organizing, equipping and disciplining the militia.

-They are responsible for setting aside (with the cooperation of the states) federal properties to be used as military installations, dock yards, and other needed buildings.

The final enumerated power was included to make space for unforeseen legislation that the congress would need to enact. It was a controversial addition to the constitution but ultimately the necessary and proper clause, as it is known, because some, like Patrick Henry, believed it would lead to limitless appropriation of power by the federal government, but it was included over these arguments giving congress the power to make any laws which are necessary for the execution of the above powers.