To paraphrase President Lincoln our government was set up to serve the people not for the people to serve the government. You would not be out of line if you increasingly felt like you were an inconvenience at best to our elected officials. Both parties have become alarmingly disengaged from the interests of the average person. The Democrat Party has become a singularly destructive force hurtling the country toward a depressing dystopian drama equal parts “Animal Farm” and “Nineteen-eighty-Four.” You might ask, “who’s fault is this?” You might be tempted to answer: the Democrats, the Left, the media or even specific people like Mr. Obama or Ms. Harris. You would be wrong.

As Peter Parker’s uncle reminded us with great power comes great responsibility. We talk about a “right to vote,” but it should really be framed as a responsibility to vote. A responsibility that requires educating yourself and a certain thoughtfulness about the consequences of your choices. The people’s choice in 2020 had the consequence of four years of the disastrous presidency of a senile old man. As a bonus, his mediocre yet smarmy number two has been elevated to the Democrat Party’s presidential candidate.

Some people argue that a Harris victory in November would be Trump’s fault because he’s Trump. This is despite the fact he beat Hillary Clinton in a fair election and lost to Joe Biden in a questionable election four years later while much of the country was still traumatized by the Chinese Flu and the devastating responses to it by both parties and the media.

Let us stipulate that Mr. Trump is not a perfect candidate. He offends sensibilities (see Never Trumpers,) he goes off message, he makes too many personal attacks etc. Unfortunately for people who want to vote for someone else, there is no one else – it is Trump or Harris. This should be an easy choice even for Never Trumpers.

It is hard to overestimate the negative effect on the GOP and the entire country caused by the profoundly dishonest and unprofessional media that have the responsibility of informing the public. Most of the media have simply become mouthpieces for the Left. Republicans haven’t been treated fairly by the press in our lifetime, but the unexpected ascent of Trump hastened their ruin.

They have thrown away their constitutionally protected responsibility to keep government accountable because they want the Left to be the dominant political force in America. The Republic needs an adversarial press to be skeptical of all politicians and parties, not a lap dog for some and an attack dog for others.

The Democrat party increasingly relies on its allies in the media to keep people ignorant about the failings of its candidates and the destructiveness of its policies. For example, candidate Harris is trying to pass herself off as tough on the border. This is a ridiculous lie, but the media so far is letting her get away with it. She had the gall to blame Trump for the surge of millions of illegal aliens that have crossed the border over the last three and a half years.

We the voters are supposed to be in charge. We decide who represents us from the proverbial dog catcher all the way up to the president. We should be proud of this but do social media addled voters understand what we have and what we stand to lose? What percentage of voters have read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? The people are sovereign; our constitutional republic was formed for the benefit of the people not for the benefit of government bureaucrats.

 It seems evident that too many of our fellow Americans are less than serious about how they decide who to vote for. When the Founding Fathers created our republic they were aware voters needed to be educated and informed enough to cast their ballots responsibly. The Leftist media establishment fails to educate or inform as it increasingly relies on demagoguery to help its side win elections.

We cannot be sure what the Founding Fathers would say about the current state of our republic. However, we do know what one of them famously said about it then. A Philadelphia socialite named Elizabeth Powel asked Benjamin Franklin a question that resonates more than ever: “Well, doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”

“A republic if we can keep it,” was Franklin’s reply. The “we” Mr. Franklin was referring to is now us. We are in danger of flushing it all away with far too many voters continuing to flirt with the Left’s inexorable march toward a Soviet-style nightmare we might not be able to wake up from. No one is coming to save us from the Left, from Harris, from Trump, from the media, or whatever your bogeyman is. These are not the problems, the problem is us. At some point the electorate must save itself or we will lose the republic.

Michael is the author of the history book “A Short History of the Long War” and the “Sadie Smith” science fiction novels.

Image: Billy Hathorn, via Wikimedia Commons // CC0 1.0 UNIVERSAL Deed