Mind Yoga for Constitutional Crisis
ConLaw_Logo
No matter whether you're of the blue, red or purple persuasion when it comes to politics, we're all being inundated with impeachment crisis disturbances of rants, raves, and routs. These will not go away any time soon. I feel like Dorothy caught in the tornado before she lands in Oz. I'm in the middle of the swirling deafening sounds of MSNBC, CNN, Fox, NPR and the plethora of online news feeds. "Oh, Toto. How do I get it all to stop? How do I make sense of it all?"
The answer is not simple. If I was a constitutional lawyer that might help, but I'm not. Although I completed many law school classes back in the 70's and continue to this day to have in interest in all things judicial, I chose not to be a lawyer. I can't think fast enough on my feet for court room dancing and never had the methodological intensity for detail to make me a good lawyer of any kind.
So here I am in 2019 in the middle of our nation's latest constitutional crisis. I find myself clueless on what the constitution says about presidential authority and impeachment, and how historical case law has shaped it over our country's history. Like I said, I feel like I'm downing is a sea of propaganda. Trump and his supporters say he's done nothing impeachable and touts his executive authority while defying Congressional inquiry. On the anti-Trump side, people claim that most everything Trump's done since taking office is impeachable. Who is and how do you know what actions are impeachable? What actions are just stupid, but not impeachable? Why do stupid actions sometimes become impeachable anyway. Why all the confusion? How can one one side sees black, the other see white?
Should I just follow my tribe or do I use this current constitutional crisis as a personal learning opportunity? The former is easy, but the latter takes energy and a willingness to open myself up -- to make vulnerable my tribe's promulgations.
My answer is "it's time to figure this stuff out!" But, how I asked. I am not about to change my life to become a constitutional scholar in my 70's. Nor can I hang on the expertise of my friends. There's nary a constitutional lawyer in the crowd. Opinion articles and on-air/on-line stories make my head spin. Whose story do I believe?
I was wrestling with this issue several days ago as I dodged bicyclers while walking the Mt. Vernon Trail along the Potomac River, WiFi earphones tuned to one of my endless string of podcasts. (Music doesn't energize me like a good story does.) About halfway down the trail with the rising sun warming me and sweat just starting to form on my brow, there was mention of a podcast series titled, What Can Trump Teach Us About Constitutional Law (aka Trump Con Law). I immediately halted by my walk, downloaded a session and turned up the volume.
I was intrigued. It was understandable and easy listening, quite frankly. One host is Elizabeth Joh, a professor in constitutional law who's written widely about policing, technology, and surveillance and published in at least five top law reviews across the country and online. Her co-host is Roman Mars who was named by Fast Company as one of the 100 Most Creative People in 2013, was a TED main stage speaker in 2015, co-founded Radiotopia network, and is the creator and host of the podcast 99% Invisible. That's a dynamite combination of legal and communications expertise.
That one podcast convinced me to ground my constitutional crisis education with the Trump Con Law podcast of 30 sessions since its beginning in 2017. It probably won't change my attitude about Trump, but at least I'll have historical context for his shenanigans (trust me, he didn't invent this stuff), and be able to talk about impeachment, constitutional authority and the like intelligently and calmly. I'll be better armed to discuss the messages and actions of all parties involved with a bit of perspective, instead of personality hatred. And, I have a mission to get me outside or on the treadmill every morning for at least a month!