The Silence of the Gavel: When Institutions Abandon Accountability

"When institutions refuse to act, they do not create neutrality—they create a void. And in that void, harm grows, trust withers, and trauma takes root. Justice is not found in silence. It is forged in the courage to confront, to name, and to refuse complicity in the erosion of what is right." - Mary Coughlin

A year ago, the highest court in the land was faced with a defining question: Can someone who engaged in insurrection run for the highest office in the country? The Constitution offered an answer. The Supreme Court, however, did not.

Instead, in March 2024, the justices ruled that states do not have the authority to enforce the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause against a federal candidate. They did not decide whether the former president engaged in insurrection. They simply said that it wasn’t their problem to solve. They handed the responsibility to Congress—knowing that Congress would do nothing.

And so here we are. One year later.

We now stand in the direct aftermath of that ruling, watching in real time as the cracks in our democracy widen. This is no longer about legal debates or procedural nuances. This is a constitutional crisis.

When Institutions Fail to Buffer, Trauma Grows

At the heart of this crisis is something deeper than politics—it’s about trust and safety.

As a society, we rely on institutions to provide stability, to create a sense of predictability, to assure us that fairness and accountability are not just ideals but real, tangible protections. We know from Trauma-Informed Developmental Care (TIDC) that harm is not just caused by what happens—but also by what fails to happen.

• When a baby in the NICU experiences distress without a response, that absence of care is its own kind of harm.

• When caregivers witness suffering but feel powerless to act, their moral distress creates lasting wounds.

• When systems designed to protect the vulnerable refuse to intervene, trauma expands in ways that are harder to name but impossible to ignore.

What happened with the Supreme Court’s ruling is no different.

The B.U.F.F.E.R. framework reminds us that Belonging, Understanding, Forgiveness, Frameworks, Equanimity, and Respect are essential for resilience. They are the very things that protect us from the long-term impact of harm.

But what happens when the systems meant to provide those buffers refuse to act?

What happens when the law says one thing, but the system decides it’s too inconvenient to enforce?

We know what happens—because we are living it.

• When the most blatant attempts to subvert democracy are met with loopholes instead of consequences, the message is clear: Power protects itself.

• When accountability is deferred, people learn that rules are flexible—depending on who they apply to.

• When a governing body refuses to enforce its own Constitution, the people are left to wonder: What else can be ignored?

This is not just about one man on a ballot. This is about the precedent that was set—the door that was left open.

And in that opening, the trauma of uncertainty grows.

A Year Later: The Consequences of Inaction

We are not theorizing anymore. We are witnessing, in real time, the consequences of institutional avoidance.

• The erosion of democratic norms – If an insurrection does not disqualify someone from office, what does?

• The legitimization of lawlessness – When powerful figures are not held accountable, impunity spreads.

• The burden of democracy shifts to the people – The courts would not act. Congress will not act. Now, the only remaining mechanism of accountability is the ballot box. The system has once again left the people to clean up what institutions refused to address.

This is how democracies erode—not through one explosive moment, but through a series of silences, a collection of decisions not made, a refusal to act when it matters most.

And just like with trauma, it is not just the original wound that causes harm—it is the repeated absence of buffering, repair, and response.

Where Do We Go From Here?

We are standing in the void left by institutional failure. And in that void, we have a choice:

We can allow disillusionment to paralyze us, or we can use it to propel us forward.

• We can refuse to normalize what is happening.

• We can name the crisis, even when institutions will not.

• We can remember that while power protects itself, change has always come from those who refuse to surrender to silence.

We do not have the luxury of looking away.

A year ago, the Supreme Court’s ruling felt like an abstract legal argument. Today, we feel its weight. This is the crisis it created.

And now, the only question left is: What will we do with it?

With resolve,
With urgency,
With the unwavering belief that justice is not found in silence—

Mary

P.S.: The time for waiting has passed. The time for hoping someone else will act has passed.
The moment is now, and it belongs to those who refuse to look away.

Will you stand? Will you speak? Will you REIMAGINE what is possible?

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