Eight Values of Speech

 

Which one do you see in action today?:

Check on Governmental Power.

There have been many questions and concerns in regards to governmental power and the regulations that fall behind it. From standard practice of power in law and politics to major scandals that have led to the resignation of major presidents such as Nixon, governmental power is a major example of what needs to be worked on and is an example of what we see in action to this day. 

A Quote Referring to Mormon Scripture that is used to directly refer to our governmental power. 

When we look at the Check on Governmental Power, we typically look at two different things: The President and Congress.

Congress has the power to go to war and typically signs off on anything major. They are the acting body of leadership in our government in the United States. However, as time goes on some Presidents find it fitting to take control and lead with no regards for our congress. 

Take the Iran war for example, which is a bigger scandal than the Iran-contra affair. While most of US Involvement in Iran has ceased it is still, nonetheless a major modern example of Governmental power being abused. In my own opinion, we need to check on not only the governments power, but the Presidents power and how it is being used in modern day issues. 

Continuing on, the Ukrainian war is a big example of wars we should have not taken any part in.  According to the United States Department of States own Bureau of Military Affairs (USBMA). To date, the US has provided $66.9 billion in military assistance since February 2022 when Russia launched its full invasion of Ukraine and approximately $69.7 billion in military assistance since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. 

We have now used the emergency Drawdown Authority on 55 occasions since August 2021 (prior to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine) to provide Ukraine military assistance totaling just over $31.7 billion from Department of Defense stockpiles. These numbers are quite high and are a major factor in the United States National Debt.

When we ask ourselves about the Check on Governmental Power and what we see in action today, we would be wise to refer to the President utilizing congressional authority without the approval of congress and the overall usage of his power is something that we as citizens of the Country of the United States of America need to check on.

As of September 1st, 2026 US debt has risen to $40.2T according to the US Debt clock and continues to rise by the second. While there are many major factors to why this is, the humanitarian aid among other things is a main factor in the primary cause of our unimaginably high debt.

Lastly, arguably one of the biggest and most impactful moments of why we should keep governmental power in check would have to be traced back to 2020 onward. As the majority of people are aware of, Covid was a time of civil unrest and major change in the US. 

The Great Barrington Declaration Spearheaded and Fixed Regulations during COVID-19.

 

While there were vaccines and allegedly, major breakthroughs during the height of Quarantine, it can be said that it has left lasting effects on everyone. From standard lockdown procedures to the latter half of covid, with the Great Barrington Declaration and doctors speaking out against the governments statements on the vaccine there has been major turmoil since Covid and it can be said that it has left major turmoil among people.

The biggest thing to touch on would be he twitter files, which is an online document speaking on major social media sites such as twitter (now known as X) and their role in helping with governmental silencing which has led to constitutional lawsuits and backlash since Covid. 

The twitter files have played a major part in reorganizing moderation

According to lemonde, a controversial and worldwide-covering french newspaper based in France the twitter files, which were released by Elon Musk and covered by other independent Journalists, are being utilized to this day to reorganize management and moderation procedures across X but not restricted to many other social media platforms due to twitters violation of the first amendment rights. It additionally covers major dissemination and unlawful censorship of not only the New York post, but major influencers and political figures, which violate major constitutional rights.

With this being said, while the twitter files, the Ukrainian war, and the Iran conflict can be argued as "Old news" or "Good for maintaining geographical peace" they are still showing the necessities of keeping governmental power on check and what will happen if we don't push to keep the president in his own lane.