​A Republic If You Can Keep It

By Vern Thompson

Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words better capture the fragile nature of self-government.

Another warning comes to mind today from Colin Powell: “If you break it, you own it.” He was speaking about the Iraq War. Both warnings feel painfully relevant right now.

Over the past twelve months, we have watched a President and his administration tear through long-standing norms like a blizzard sweeping across the northern plains. The Constitution provides guardrails, but guardrails only work when someone grabs the wheel. Neither Congress nor the Supreme Court has stepped in to restrain executive overreach.

Consider what has unfolded. The man who campaigned on ending foreign entanglements has now launched a land, sea and air invasion of Venezuela (capturing its president and his wife) without Congressional authorization or even briefing Congressional leadership. Somewhere, the late neocon Donald Rumsfeld might be smiling.

Our military executed “Operation Absolute Resolve” with extraordinary skill — and thankfully, without the loss of American life. But that was the easy part.

The hard part began when President Trump declared, “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” With those words, the United States assumed responsibility for governing a fractured nation of twenty-eight million people. Chaos and insecurity are not hypothetical risks: they are the predictable consequences in this case.

There will be American boots on the ground in Venezuela. Who will protect the oil-field workers tasked with rebuilding a shattered energy sector? Who will secure the pipelines and mountain corridors needed to move crude to the coast? Who will own the fallout when things go wrong?

Franklin warned us about keeping a republic. Powell warned us about owning what we broke. Today, both warnings are staring us in the face.

Meanwhile, here at home, promises have been broken with the frequency and familiarity of an active alcoholic stumbling through the door saying, “This is the last time.” As a recovering alcoholic with more than 35 years of sobriety, I know the pattern. I know what denial looks like. I know what it costs for the people around you.

Americans are far more concerned about the rising cost of healthcare. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, twenty-two million Americans are facing premium increases of more than 100% through the Affordable Care Act. Families living paycheck to paycheck must choose between health insurance and necessities. That is unacceptable. The president has been missing in action on this issue since he first floated the idea of a plan a decade ago.

Farmers have taken a beating as well. The self-inflicted tariff war cost them $50 billion in lost export markets. Consumer prices rose, and taxpayers are left to fund a $12 billion bailout, with more likely to come. It will take years to rebuild the loss.

And then there are the cuts to Medicaid and Medicare: $1.5 trillion slashed in the Big Beautiful Bill Act. These cuts fall hardest on working Americans, especially in states that voted for him. In North Dakota, one in three people relies on one of these programs. Congress set aside $50 billion for the Rural Health Transformation Program, but that does not come close to covering the damage. Rural hospitals will feel the pain first. The state will have Hunger Games type competitions to see who gets the limited funding.

Transparency has suffered too. The law required the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files within 30 days. That deadline has passed. All the files have not been released. Congress has done nothing.

At the same time, the executive branch is asserting the authority to unilaterally alter or halt congressionally appropriated funds. Constitutional scholars argue that only Congress holds the power of the purse. Multiple lawsuits are now before the Supreme Court, waiting for answers.

Out of love for my country, I pray for our elected officials. But prayer alone is not enough. Accountability is patriotism. We the people deserve answers because lives and livelihoods are at stake. I pray for every North Dakotan struggling through no fault of their own. We deserve leaders who put people first: not the powerful, the wealthy, or the well-connected.

Everyday families are fighting to make ends meet while too many politicians enrich themselves at taxpayer expense. If you care about the future of this country, now is the time to stand up and speak out.

We have less than three hundred days until the November elections. Each of us must decide what side of history we want to stand on. My hope, my prayer, is that we choose the side of saving our democratic republic.

So that one day, when we look in the mirror and recall Franklin’s warning: “A republic, if you can keep it,” we can answer with confidence: Yes. We kept it. And we did our part for the generations to come.

May 2026 be a year of truth, courage, and service. 

Reach author Vern Thompson at vern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com.