Poem: "Never Trusted Without a Check"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the January 8, 2019 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It also fills the "balance" square of my 9-30-18 card for the Fall Bingo fest.


"Never Trusted Without a Check"


The U.S. Constitution provides
for the separation of powers.

It supports the three branches
of the American government:
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

Each branch has its own powers,
but all are limited by another branch,
creating a system of checks and balances.

This complex structure of countervailing forces
is inefficient, but that is not a mistake.

It is a deliberate design choice
to reduce the possibility of tyrants
usurping too much power.

The founders understood that
power was a two-edged sword,
never quite entirely safe and
never trusted without a check.

* * *

Notes:

“...I say, that Power must never be trusted without a check.”
― John Adams, The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams

The U.S. Constitution establishes the separation of powers.  This requires miscreants to take over multiple branches in order to obtain full control, which is more difficult than corrupting a single branch.  In other words, don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Comments

[zeeth_kyrah]

And thus let us remember, contrarianism is not the enemy of liberty, but rather its bulwark if carefully applied.

[jeshyr]

I'm not up to any more typing just now, so instead I have this copy-pasted message to let you know I greatly appreciated this post <3