It may be time for a 4th branch of government
Originally published on Medium on Jun. 18, 2025
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
The Declaration of Independence
Damn! Even after all these years, you’ve got to admit that’s a real banger from Thomas Jefferson.
Too bad we’re doing such a lousy job of living up to it. Even the briefest glance at the news makes it obvious that the U.S. is in decline. I’m talking shootings on every corner, Starbucks cafes on fire, and hand-on-hand combat at preschool pickups.
Just a typical Tuesday in America
Except, that’s not really true. Yes, this country has some real problems. Yes, some of them are definitely getting worse. But some are actually getting better. For instance, U.S. gun deaths are down for the second year in a row (Pew Research), the gender parity gap is closing (World Economic Forum), and wages are inching up (CNBC).
So, why does it seem so bad?
Well, there are many obvious answers to that question (which others have answered much better than me). But there’s one aspect we don’t talk about enough: our love of drama. For goodness sake, we elected a reality TV star as president. We’ve confused the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of entertainment, and quite frankly, it’s dragging us down.
This s**t is getting messy, and we’re Here. For. It.
What’s with our unhealthy obsession? Why all the drama? In psychology, this is sometimes called “catastrophizing,” and it has a clear source. "Catastrophizing is forming worst-case scenarios, often fueled by past trauma or unresolved emotional triggers." (Psychology Today)
Oh! I get it now. America’s got some Daddy issues.
America’s Daddy issues
Look, I know we don’t like to dwell on it, but King George was a very emotionally distant father when we were young. We colonized a whole new nation for him, and he didn’t come visit us even once. When he did talk to us, it was to make us pay for stuff we didn’t want or to punish us when we didn’t comply.
Even worse, he never taught us how to be responsible adults. Oh sure, he was big on teaching us about paying our taxes, but what about everything else? We stole from people who helped us and he didn’t say a word. We bought and sold other human beings, and he couldn’t be bothered to teach us it was wrong. That is some lax parenting, to say the very least.
No wonder we have unresolved baggage. Daddy was a bad role model who only talked to us when he wanted something. Classic deadbeat dad.
Which brings me back to my proposal
Look, we’ve done a lot of things we can be proud of. That whole Declaration of Independence? Great stuff. The Constitution? Love it. Three branches of government? Inspired. But our childhood issues are really catching up to us right now, and it’s putting all the good work we’ve done in jeopardy. As Scientific American says, "The U.S. is in a bad place and, scholars warn, looks to be headed for worse."
Which is why I think it’s time for a new branch of government. We have three now — Legislative (makes the laws), Executive (enforces the laws), and Judicial (evaluates the laws). It’s time for a fourth branch — Therapeutic, which will analyze the emotional impulses and impacts of the laws.
Like the other three branches, the Therapeutic branch would be independent — lawmakers could not fire their shrink for making them confront difficult emotional truths. Also like the other branches, the findings would be public. That means it would act more like group therapy and less like private sessions. (Although, quite frankly, I’d be happy to pay more taxes for certain members of our government to get mandatory daily therapy.)
The goal, of course, would be for us to make us rationally think through why we’re making and enforcing certain laws.
Bob, do you understand why Sue felt triggered when you tried to gerrymander her district?
Would it work? No clue. But it certainly seems like it’s worth a try. We’re definitely going through a rough patch, and it’s time to try something new to get through it.
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