Democracy on a Handshake

It’s easy to believe our government is held together by something solid, like laws, buildings, courtrooms, and the Constitution. But if you peel all that away, what’s left? What really keeps this country running?

A handshake.

Not a literal one, of course. But a kind of unspoken agreement between neighbors, between citizens and institutions, between “We the People” and those we choose to represent us. We agree to follow the rules, not because we’re forced to, but because, as a nation of individuals, we’ve tacitly agreed that the rules matter. We stop at red lights. We stand in line at the grocery store. We accept election results, even when we don’t like them. That’s the handshake.

And it’s kind of amazing, isn’t it? For nearly 250 years, this country has moved forward not just on laws, but on trust. That’s what the Declaration of Independence meant when it said governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Alexander Hamilton called it “reflection and choice,” referring to the idea that we could govern ourselves without resorting to “accident and force.”

But we must be good stewards of this trust. Why? Because trust isn’t permanent. It requires constant reinforcement through transparency, responsiveness, and openness. This sacred trust lasts only as long as people believe they have a voice, a stake, and a place in the system. When the government forsakes this sacred trust and relies instead on coercion, enforcing laws with masked men bearing guns rather than with the consent of the people, our system of representative democracy implodes.

That’s why it’s so dangerous when people call for more power to be concentrated in the presidency. It may seem like a dream come true for those who want to see their side “win” every argument. As many MAGA folks like to say, “Own the libs.” But history shows that power, once concentrated, becomes detached from the people, even from those who thought they were on the inside. Privilege becomes a bubble. And all bubbles burst.

Authoritarian systems may seem efficient, but in reality, they are very unsustainable. When ordinary citizens no longer see what’s in it for them, they disengage. Work slows. Innovation stops. The economy suffers. Historically, such governments have tried to escape this economic disaster by punishing citizens who don’t contribute sufficiently to the state. They use surveillance and arrests, but no authoritarian government has ever jailed itself back to legitimacy. Eventually, it collapses under the weight of its citizens’ discontent, and in doing so, many people get hurt.

To be honest, America’s version of representative democracy hasn’t always lived up to its ideals. Plenty of people have been left out or betrayed by that handshake. But the idea behind it, that the government belongs to the people and must answer to them, is what makes this system work.

So yes, it may just be a handshake. But it’s carried us this far. If we want it to carry us further, we’ve got to protect it. Because once it’s broken, all we’re left with is force. And force always fails in the end.