Government classes in the United States are made to teach specific aspects of the American government’s operations and history; operations such as the Constitution, branches of government, and party policies. The issue with studying these subjects is that the current administration has, in many ways, disregarded the methods with which they are meant to operate.
Early Saturday, February, 28, the United States began a series of bomb strikes against Iran. However, these strikes were not executed with congressional approval or debate which are required constitutionally before any act of war.
The powers and abilities of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches are one of the main subjects that is taught in government classes. At Sentinel, we learn about them throughout every unit in regular and AP (advanced placement) government classes.
Learning this in school while watching our current administration ignore the most important laws in the country encourages confusion and a feeling of complete uselessness in ourselves and our education.
Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was a brutal leader who frequently killed those who protested his regime. However, that does not allow for grounds of authorization for war from a foreign country. President Trump has ignored and disregarded the congressional policy that gives Congress the power to initiate and authorize war by utilizing war efforts without officially declaring war.
The power to declare war was given to Congress by the framers of the Constitution in order to protect against unnecessary conflict. James Madison decided the decision to declare war would be too powerful and tempting “for any one man”. This is why the power was not given to the president alone.
Many quizzes and tests discuss the powers that were constitutionally given to the president. The assessments required by the curriculum do not follow the actions of the administration. Questions about the meaning of the constitution rendered even more useless as the government disregarded the way the original framers described their inclinations.
Along with beginning war efforts against Iran, the Trump administration has allegedly been working towards an executive order declaring national emergency because of presumed interference from a foreign government in the 2026 midterm elections.
The administration has been suspected of planning this “emergency” for the past year by removing any urgency from the situation and making it a false emergency which is a crime to claim.
The draft of the presumed executive order is written in a fashion aligning with the Trump administration’s history of evading their constitutional powers to take control of situations they don’t find favorable.
We’ve been taught that anyone who commits a crime deserves to be tried for their crimes; however, Donald Trump has been found guilty after a court case in 2024 for 34 different crimes, such as detaining governmental information and many cases of conspiracy against rights. This number does not include the crimes he has committed in the released Epstein files.
Outside of specific actions taken by the government, the parties themselves have altered significantly. Where they used to be based around measures they wished for the government to take, they are now more similar to sports teams.
No matter the actions each party’s political members take, those who have identified themselves with a specific party will continue to vote for them. This goes directly against the individualism that we learn is a core value of the country.
Trying to study the history and workings of this country while witnessing the leader of your own country slander and disregard the rules and laws that we are meant to uphold is infuriating and makes the lessons we are meant to remember for the rest of our lives feel completely worthless.
