Opinion: ‘Seeking might over right destroys representative government’

Retired judge Dave Larson argues that prioritizing political power over constitutional principles has undermined representative government and calls for renewed civic responsibility.

Retired Judge Dave Larson says ‘we are fully immersed in dysfunction through our actions and, more troubling, our inaction’

Dave Larson
for Clark County Today

The best way to describe the current state of politics and government is…we have been so interested in getting our way that we have lost our way. We are at an age when we feel that we are entitled to our opinions and everybody else is entitled to our opinions, too, and if you do not agree then you are (ugly epithet).

We are brainwashed to pick a side and then fight to the proverbial death to get our government institutions to force our side’s agenda down the throats of others. That is not how our institutions of government were designed to function. Our institutions are not failing us; we are failing our institutions. There is a reason to stand up against others, but that reason is the same for all of us; preserving representative government guaranteed in our state and federal constitutions.

The temptation is to affix blame to one side or the other, but the analysis should not focus on who caused the problem. Instead, the focus should be on how we are going to clean up the mess caused by a never-ending quest to use the power of government to assert our own brand of power and control over others.

Each side will be tempted to blame the people they despise on the other side, but the people they despise are just symptoms of a much greater disease. To fill the current values void, one faction asserts their version of morality which then fuels the opposing faction to see themselves as righteous victors over oppression. In other words, we are filling the values void with destructive reactions instead of constructive remedies because “our” side needs to win to stop the other side from winning. You can point fingers at others, but the blame lies with each of us. Why? Because we are using a broken compass to guide us.

We created a “compass” in 1776 that we have almost entirely discarded in favor of broken political navigation that values might over right. After all, to the victor goes the spoils, right?

This year marks the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We need a renewal of the values that planted a seed not only for our country’s existence, but for the existence of undying, yet fragile, principles that can continue to inspire life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for us all. In the system designed in the Constitution, disagreement becomes an opportunity and not a threat, but only when we make sure that the institutions of government function properly.

We answered the question about the purpose of government clearly and succinctly in Article I, Section 1 of our own State Constitution, the very first provision of our Declaration of Rights:

“All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.”

The three branches of government provided for in our state and federal constitutions are intended to break up power to prevent it from being the ultimate goal. Doing right by serving everyone is valued over the use of might to control opponents.

We are operating under the mistaken belief that unity of thought and opinion is the goal. That goal breeds the temptation to oppress and silence opposing views. However, we need a “unity of purpose” that encourages disagreement so that we can create the laws and policies that serve us all and not just the favored supporters of the powerful. Legislative bodies are designed to filter conflicting opinions to create laws that we all need and not to create laws that only the favored few want.

The executive then implements laws passed by the legislative branch and through veto power ensures that everyone, and not just favored interests, are served. The courts’ role is to make sure that disputes about the law are resolved fairly and that the law does not violate the Constitution, not to create their own policies for their own favored interests.

Simply put, seeking might over right destroys representative government.

We are fully immersed in dysfunction through our actions and, more troubling, our inaction. Silence and inaction by good and reasonable people at this time in our history is making our intended form of government a lamb to the slaughter. The time has come for a grassroots movement that insists that the people who occupy positions of responsibility breathe life into the values that will make a “more perfect union” possible.

Dave Larson served as judge on Federal Way’s municipal court since 2008 before his retirement in 2025.