I’m not a professor. I don’t have a law degree, never joined a think tank, and never earned a master’s in political science. I’m a simple office clerk from Austria. Completed an apprenticeship – and that’s it. And yet, I understand something that many Americans apparently don’t: how their own Constitution works. Or more accurately, how it doesn’t work the way they think it does.
Because while right-wing politicians and televangelists in the U.S. are screaming that the “Democrats” are about to change the Constitution, a sober look at the facts reveals:
That’s absolute nonsense.
📜 The U.S. Constitution Is No Pressure Cooker
To amend the Constitution, you need:
- Two-thirds of both the House and the Senate
- Followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states
In plain English: no president – not Biden, not Trump – can change anything on their own. Not even with a majority in Congress.
What it would take is an unprecedented political consensus – one that hasn’t existed in the U.S. for decades, if not longer.
And yet, right-wing politicians stand in front of cameras with straight faces and warn that the “woke left” is coming to take away your rights. That they’re going to flip the Constitution upside down.
Whoever believes that either never understood the system – or chooses not to.
👔 The Gentleman Wearing the Wrong Century
I recently saw a photo from a conservative youth gathering in the U.S. One young man wore a classy three-piece suit, a Southern gentleman’s hat, and a necktie that looked like a stylized version of the Confederate flag. Subtle enough to deny if questioned – but clear enough to send a message.
Dogwhistles, they call them: messages only the like-minded are meant to understand.
And my first thought was: “Buddy, I think you got the wrong century.”
But this isn’t harmless cosplay. It’s an attempt to rewrite history – to romanticize the slaveholding South – all wrapped in red, white, and blue.
⛪️ What Truly Preserves Democracy? Secularism and Church Taxes
If there’s one thing this all confirmed for me, it’s this:
The separation of church and state isn’t a technicality. It’s essential for preserving democracy.
Because wherever religious institutions are tax-exempt, they grow into economic empires.
And wherever they gain political influence – through money, media, or lobbying – they begin to undermine the foundation of a pluralistic society.
The U.S. is showing us, in real time, what happens when that influence goes unchecked.
Mega-churches influence who runs for office, what gets taught in schools, and how the Supreme Court rules.
That’s not liberty.
That’s a slow-moving theocracy in a business suit.
🧠 Education Is Not the Same as Academia
I’m not an academic. But I read. I listen. I think.
And apparently, that’s already more than some people who consider themselves “politically educated” are willing to do.
You don’t need Harvard to recognize when democracy is faltering.
All you need is a sense of fairness – and a little curiosity.
📌 My Conclusion:
When people stop understanding their institutions,
it becomes easier to turn them against those very institutions.
And when churches become tax havens,
they stop being moral compasses –
and start becoming unregulated power centers.
I don’t wear medals. I don’t fund political campaigns.
But I pay attention. And I’ve understood something
that anyone could understand –
if they weren’t so busy fearing imaginary threats.