By Douglas V. Gibbs
I’ve long believed there are always three sides to every story: what he said, what she said, and what really happened. That belief keeps me from reacting based solely on what I see on the surface. I try—though not always perfectly—not to take things personally. More often than not, the person giving you grief isn’t reacting to you specifically. You may not factor into the whole equation unseen things that influence their behavior. There’s almost always more to the story.
Recently, I was talking with a friend about the QAnon phenomenon. He told me he believes Q was legitimate at first—someone on the inside leaking information through the Q Drops. But eventually, it got hijacked. Self-appointed interpreters began claiming there were predictions embedded in the messages. Those predictions didn’t come true, and the whole thing unraveled. From there, the vultures moved in. The movement became an easy target, something the Left could point to and say, “See? These people are unhinged.” I can see how that might be close to what really happened.
Our Founding Fathers understood this kind of dynamic. They sought the happy medium—a balance. They recognized the dangers in the extremes of democracy, aristocracy, and theocratic influences as seen in Europe’s past. But, as the saying goes, you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Even in those flawed systems, there were elements worth preserving.
So the Founders did something extraordinary. They blended the best of what they knew into a new system—a government never tried before. The House of Representatives gave the people a direct voice through democratic elections. The Senate, originally appointed by State legislatures, represented a pseudo-aristocracy—seasoned statesmen who understood the science of politics chosen by their States to guard against federal overreach, give the States a kind of oversight over the government they had created with the Constitution, and bring experience and the advantage of cooler heads to the table.
The presidency was created to execute the laws written by Congress and represent the United States abroad. While the President was given considerable power in foreign affairs and matters essential to preserving the Union, his domestic powers were deliberately limited. This was a safeguard: to harness the benefits of a strong executive while avoiding the dangers of centralized rule.
The judiciary, too, was carefully designed. Judges were empowered to apply the law and deliver justice, but they had no enforcement arm and were not originally meant to interpret or review laws as they do today. This structure was meant to ensure the courts could function effectively without threatening the balance of power.
It was all about a proper distribution of power—about ensuring no single branch could dominate the others. Tyranny was prevented through structural checks and balances. Each branch was kept in line by the others, by the States, by the voice of the people, and particular mechanisms embedded in the system. In that balance—the happy medium—liberty found its protection.
And for a time, it worked. That carefully constructed system brought the United States to the forefront of global liberty, influence, and prosperity.
But the system has been under attack since day one. Flaws have been introduced. Extremes—ideological, political, and institutional—have crept in. What we now have is a distorted hybrid. It doesn’t function as originally intended, yet the genius of the original design still lingers—just enough to keep full-blown tyranny at bay.
So the question before us is this:
Do we restore the happy medium the Founders created to preserve liberty, or do we continue down a path that allows the extremes to take root and eventually turn this republic into a tyranny against the people and a threat to liberty around the world?
Whichever choice we make, we must be tirelessly involved to make sure it is carried out. Without our guidance and informed participation, tyranny may find a way to continue to erode our Constitution, imprison our liberty, and dismantle the balanced system that began our story two-hundred and fifty years ago.
— Political Pistachio Constitutional News and Commentary
