Personally, I sometimes have to be reminded not to put any faith in man.  The prophet Jeremiah said/wrote, in chapter 17, verse 9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?"  The next verse reads "I, Jehovah, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." So verse 9 is Jehovah, the Lord God, speaking about the heart of man.  It's a good thing that He is the one searching our mind...our heart.

On September 7th, 2023, thirteen presidential centers collaborated to post a statement on "democracy".

And sadly It appears that the declination of the American vision has been verified.  (Feel free to think I'm over reacting.  Remember, God knows our hearts.)  Below is the sixth paragraph of what the representatives of 13 presidents' living and dead presidents agreed on.  You can read the entire statement here.

"Each of us has a role to play and responsibilities to uphold. Our elected officials must lead by example and govern effectively in ways that deliver for the American people. This, in turn, will help to restore trust in public service. The rest of us must engage in civil dialogue; respect democratic institutions and rights; uphold safe, secure, and accessible elections; and contribute to local, state, or national improvement...."

So..."elected officials...must lead" and "The rest of us"?  Well we must be civil, respect, uphold..."safe, secure, and accessible elections" and "contribute to...improvement."

I'll be brief.  Let's just compare paragraph six to the U. S. Constitution's Preamble, the mission statement of the United States of America:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..."

There's simply no "The rest of us" in "We the People".

Excuse me.  I think someone's knocking on the door. Probably not an "elected official".  No.  He just said it's "a warning." and "just wants me to be 'civil'".  I wonder what the Lord sees in his heart.  I wonder what the "fruit of his doings" will be.  (I think I'll just worry about me though.)