In the beginning, America was founded as a nation free from tyrannical rule. Escaping the injustices that once plagued them by spreading the power that the monarch had across three branches of the government and into the hands of the people. The Executive branch of government is definitely the most attention grabbing in the nation. The role of the president and the power the president is a constantly evolving discussion involving much more than the reality of the office’s control.
In the Constitution of the United States, Article II addresses the powers of the executive branch. The powers of the president described in Article II, Section 2 include, “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actu
al Service of the United States”. From this description the power of the president involves a lot of military duties and responsibilities. The executive branch in a lot of ways ensures that United States Citizens follow the laws. They are in charge of enforcement. They have a say in approving laws, but they don’t make the laws, they can’t guarantee that what they want to see in the American Government is possible.
With all of this said we still treat each election for the president’s chair like we are putting a new king into office who will decide the fate of our country. Individuals and parties win campaigns based on the things they promise. They win the next campaign by theoretically reflecting on what they got done in the past four years. We often forget the bounds of the President’s direct power. The idea of one person controlling the government seems counter productive to America’s founding political philosophies. Obviously the office doesn’t hold all the keys to total control of a country, yet presidents make promises that they could only be made into a reality with total control.
The role of a president today is much different than it once was. Today it seems president’s serve as a median between the people and the government. This role is extremely important. The current Trump administration is definitely one of the most interesting cases of the loose definition in what sitting in the oval office means. Of the 44 presidents proceeding Trump has been at the forefront of redefining how people see presidential power. Donald Trump made it into office because of his resilience and strongly opinionated voice. However he should’ve played his cards a little closer to his chest. His totalitarian mindset seems to have put him in between a rock and hard place. With the inability to deliver even a fraction of what he seems to believe he could get done; he has lost the faith of both his supporters and his party. This isn’t his fault however, this is the way our government was designed, to protect the best interest of the people.
The lack of productivity in his first term so far seems to be a result of his mindset. One of Trump’s objectives is to defund Planned Parenthood. This is an excellent example of why the presidential seat is such strange limitation of power. Trump has said, “I would defund it because of the abortion factor, which they say is 3 percent. I don’t know what percentage it is. They say it’s 3 percent. But I would defund it, because I’m pro-life”. Setting aside biases on this issue this quote demonstrates a president making a claim on their own personal belief. This is where the line between president and wanting to be a King is drawn. Bring the ideas of a party into office is not by any means a new thing. However a king would make changes to the state of a country based on opinion. A president should make changes based on the good of the people.
The system is set up so ideally what is best for the people will happen. This raises questions about what it means to be president at the same time. Did Trump just promise too much? People seem to almost be keen to the idea of one person making all the decisions for the country. Do our presidents today still symbolize what they once were? Do we want a king? In a time of political change and presence of information among the population is it any surprise that the unfulfilled promises are to be expected? The next four years onward will be vital in defining the role of the leader of the free world.
21st Century Citizenship 