Are we at the Dead End?

By: Sumedha Mahesh

The constitution, a document that has been America’s foundation for well over 200 years, is the building block of the country that we live in. For centuries, individuals and leaders have looked to the constitution when an unprecedented problem has arisen and have seeked guidance through it. The constitution has been the answer to our problems, our rule book for as long as we can remember, the “holy” script that contains all the answers. However, as time goes on, we have started to see gaps and holes in the constitution. This past year, especially with the election, has dealt our country issues no one would have ever expected. However, this time when we have turned to the constitution, we have come across the horrifying reality that it doesn’t contain the answers to our problems. 

Let’s take a simple example of such a problem, the conceding of the losing candidate in an election. For over hundreds of years, no one has ever heard of or even faced the issue of a candidate refusing to concede and follow a peaceful transition of power. But the 2020 election has been like no other, with America experiencing for the first time, a candidate refusing to concede and follow a peaceful transition of power. Through instinct, many of us might look towards the constitution for an answer to this problem, however, the constitution contains no such answer. So one might ask, what should we do? It’s very interesting to look into, as conceding had become the societal norm among leaders. In fact, when the constitution was written, individuals in power thought of conceding as an action that any leader would take out of honor, and therefore was not necessary to be written into the constitution. As society evolves, times change and societal norms get challenged, as we are seeing President Trump do currently, and in turn, society sees the holes and gaps in certain rules that have been looked towards for over hundreds of years. However, we must ask ourselves if it is even possible to create a seemingly flawless set of rules?

If we look into this, it is clear that the logical answer is no. As we have seen for hundreds of years, as society evolves, rules and norms get challenged, and in turn, society and rules change, leading to evolution. It’s basically a cycle. However, it is important to note that such change can be positive also. For example, take the women's suffrage movement. Women, rightly enough, started questioning why they were not allowed to vote, why they didn’t have the same rights as men, why they weren’t given rights when they were equally contributing to society. This challenge of the societal norms at that time, eventually led to women getting the right to vote, something that millions of women are able to exercise proudly today and that has changed society for the better. Therefore, it is impossible to create a “perfect” set of laws, because, as explained above, as society evolves, the thought of the people does too, with the laws’ imperfections being highlighted. 

We must realize that as for the constitution and modern society and government, we are pretty much at a dead end. As we find faults in the constitution we seek to fix those faults and better our society as we see fit, however, we are not able to do that. Individuals have spent years trying to repeal the second amendment, as they believe that this is best for the country at the time it is in. However, leaders and individuals are afraid to do this, with the fear that if one block is taken out, everything else will start falling apart. Imagine this as a jenga tower, you take one block out, another one, another one, and another one, and soon the tower eventually falls apart. Due to this fear, individuals are afraid of making change that they want to see happen, change that can possibly be better for this country and for modern society, all because everything we have known, the society that we live in, will come falling down like a jenga tower. So what do we do? We are unhappy with the society we live in, we want to make change, we see room for change, but we are unable to because of the fear that it will ruin everything else. Society is basically at a dead end. However, hope must not be lost. Nothing is ever permanent and this is definitely not the end of our familiar society. We must not let our voices be silenced because of this fear. We must continue to advocate for what we believe in. After all, we are our country’s future, our country’s hope. So I urge each and every one of you, go out there and fight for what you believe in. Make change happen in a world that, at the moment, seems dark and scary. Be the voice of the change you want to see happen. Bring hope for our future, America’s future, the world’s future.