The Real Crisis Isn’t Policy—It’s Trust

Guest Opinion by Seth Burton, Two-time nuclear submarine commander and candidate for U.S. Senate

Public trust is collapsing as power concentrates in Washington. Preserving our Republic requires returning sovereignty to the people and accountability to government itself.

Our Republic will not collapse all at once. It will erode—slowly—through misplaced trust, concentrated power, and the quiet confusion of roles never meant to be interchangeable.

James Madison warned that freedom is more often lost through “gradual and silent encroachments” than by sudden force. That is exactly where we are today.

At the center of it all is one word: Trust.

Two generations ago, nearly three in four Americans trusted their federal government. Today, fewer than one in five do. Confidence in elections has dropped from 72% in 2004 to 57% in 2024, while those with no confidence at all have more than tripled.

At the same time, Washington has abandoned fiscal responsibility. Debt has grown from 26% of GDP in 1972 to over 120% today—more than $39 trillion. We now spend more on interest than on national defense—and receive nothing in return for that trillion-dollar annual cost.

That is not leadership. That is decline.

These are not separate problems. They are symptoms of the same disease: a government that no longer operates within its proper limits—and leaders who no longer remember who they serve.

For too long, Washington has been dominated by two types of leaders:
• Those who build careers inside the system
• Those who focus on individual issues without addressing the structure itself

Neither has solved the problem—because neither addresses its root cause.

The Founders understood something we have forgotten: sovereignty and dominion are not the same.

The people are sovereign.
Government exercises only delegated authority—nothing more.

Elected officials are not rulers. They are stewards.

When stewards begin to act like sovereigns, power centralizes. Accountability disappears. Liberty erodes.

Career politicians remain in office for decades, becoming more accountable to institutions and donors than to the people. Meanwhile, others speak to frustration—but without offering a structural path to restore balance.

The result is the same: power continues to concentrate, and trust collapses.

The Constitution was designed to prevent this:
• Limited, enumerated powers
• Separation of powers
• Federalism
• Checks and balances

These were not suggestions. They were safeguards.

But safeguards only work when leaders respect them—and leaders will only respect them when the sovereign people hold them accountable.

As a former submarine commander, I understand centralized authority. In a submarine, it exists—but it is bound by discipline, accountability, and mission clarity. Without those guardrails, failure is not theoretical—it is inevitable.

Government is no different.

When authority drifts too far from the people…
When institutions begin to protect themselves…
When decisions are made far from the families they affect…

Dominion becomes domination.
And trust disappears.

The solution is not louder rhetoric. It is restoring structure.

That means:
• Decentralizing power wherever possible
• Enforcing equal rule of law—no exceptions
• Limiting tenure to prevent the accumulation of power
• Returning decision-making to the people

Because freedom is not protected by intentions. It is protected by design.

This is the difference in this race.

We can continue down the path of career politics and incremental decline.
Or we can restore the constitutional structure that made this nation strong.

Abraham Lincoln reminded us: the people are the rightful masters of government—not to overthrow the Constitution, but to remove those who pervert it.

That responsibility now belongs to us.

This is not about personalities. It is about whether we will restore the proper order of our Republic:

The people are sovereign.

Government serves at their consent.

If we restore that order, trust can be rebuilt.
If we do not, it will continue to erode—slowly, quietly, and permanently.

The choice is clear.
And the time is now.

Seth Burton is a two-time nuclear submarine commander and national security expert. He is running for U.S. Senate in Alabama to restore trust, decentralize power, and return government to its constitutional foundation.

For more information on Burton and his campaign, visit https://sethburtonforsenate.com/about.

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