There's a question that needs to be asked about our country's future.
"Is America governable?"
At the moment, and for the last couple of years, the answer to that question might require a qualified "yes."
Not exactly the ringing endorsement one would expect. Certainly not the answer you might desire. Just a qualified "yes."
Some 50 years ago or so, there was a collection of malcontents that founded the John Birch Society. From the start, the various "cells" of the Society found fault with the then-direction of the country, its politics and society (small "s") in general. The search for suspected Communists kept members busy looking behind every tree and bush. No one in any position of government was to be trusted. Especially Democrats.
Over the years, the Society and others of such ilk morphed into all sorts of "aginers." Trusting nothing. Trusting no one. Offering not a speck of anything to right the "wrongs" they opposed.
Along came "talk radio." Suddenly, the malingerers had a "voice." Their activities could be brought out into "the light." They had a focal point for all to see.
The sad truth is this "voice" of the right morphed again. It found a home in the national Republican Party and, through that, down to the local committees. The "Grand Old Party" would never be the same.
Over many national and state elections, representatives of rightward thought were elected to thousands of public offices. The face of government changed at all levels. The "my-way-or-the-highway" crowd was in charge.
Think about it. Our current struggle to simply elect a Speaker in the U.S. House of Representatives has become such a volatile mess because of what? The far-right. About 20 or so members got their backs up and told Jim Jordan his search for power would end in failure. And, that's been true.
While advocating nothing and opposing everything, these "cells" of rightward "thought" have infected Congress. The legal demand of a general national budget looms just a couple of weeks off. But, thanks to these miscreants, no one is doing much about getting down to the number crunching.
For the last few years, we've not had a national budget. We've been existing on what's called a "continuing resolution." That means, no one has constructed a budget from scratch for a decade or so. Instead, Congress has simply adopted a budget from a few years back and added an annual percentage "guestimate" to keep things running.
There's a wonderful contradiction in all this. The right-wingers have loudly - and repeatedly - advocated for "cutting the fat" out of our government spending. But, it's the same bunch that's continually - and successfully - kept budget hawks from creating a leaner operating document.
The embarrassing fight keeping Jordan out of the Speaker's chair is the doing of the far-right contingent within the national GOP. Whatever blood there be is on their hands. The personal threats against families of members of Congress, the anonymous callers in the middle of the night, the threatening texts and emails - those are theirs, too. All of it. The whole nasty, dangerous, mindlessness mess is theirs.
Recent governance, as we know it, has been simply responding to one crisis or another, drifting along without direction, without goals, without truly responding to national concerns. Gun violence. Solid evidence of the effects of climate change. Action on our national drug crisis and it's many manifestations on society. Reining in our bloated defense spending. All are serious national problems. But, Congress is doing nothing!
So, we are left with the question. "Is America governable?" And, the answer continues to be a qualified "yes." And such governance as there be is facing threats of violence and insurrection we've not seen for 250 years.
The answer - the action to get us back on the correct path - will not come from the top down. Solutions - corrections - must come from the bottom up.
We have a national election in some 13 months. A third of the seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested. And, every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives will be "up for grabs." Every one.
That election is so damned important. More than ever, we need an informed electorate. A very well-informed electorate. Vacancies in public offices must be filled. Candidates - whether now in office or new faces - must be re-examined for fitness. For judgment. For integrity. Nothing less is acceptable.
"Is America governable?" Can we make that answer an unqualified "YES?" The answer is up to us.