"America" was born of revolt and distrust of government. But many of us know that those running the US government have arguably threatened and trampled liberty beyond what the British crown did to colonists. The violations are bipartisan and span generations of presidencies. Even so, 1776 has not commenced again despite Thomas Jefferson's well-known and enduringly popular opinion that "the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Millions of Americans were hopeful that Donald Trump would usher in a new era of freedom and respect for the Constitution. But amid the war in Iran, the technocratic and surveillance state advancing with increasing speed and intensity, the Epstein debacle, and corporate interests continuing to plague politics, even many MAGA diehards have lost faith.

Similarly, many on the mainstream left were hopeful that the election of Joe Biden (and Obama before him) could usher in a better, more just world. They perpetuated more of the same—the erosion of civil liberties, economic disparity, expanding the technocratic police state, and militarism. Whether Republicans or Democrats are in power, there has been no mass revolt to break free of the ruling authorities.

There is a huge disconnect between the American glorification of revolution against unjust authority and their willingness to actually revolt. But why? There are many often-discussed factors: complacency fueled by endless consumer and digital distractions, the effectiveness of divide-and-conquer propaganda that keeps people fixated on hating their partisan counterparts instead of challenging those in power, and the deterioration of collective intelligence accelerated by the educational system, mindless entertainment, poor health, and social media. I believe all of these are key factors in keeping the masses complacent. But there is another, more fundamental and philosophical dynamic at play.

We (are not) "the people"

In the minds of many Americans, the Constitution that followed the paradigm-shifting American Revolution (and Articles of Confederation) keeps government in check. According to the civics education I and many others received in public school, if politicians step out of line, "the people" can vote them out. In doing so, we learn, they preserve the constitutional, representative system that protects liberties and secures the people's sovereignty.