Sedition and Shadow Institutions

Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis discusses multiple instances of "a factious commotion of people, or a tumultuous assembly of men rising in opposition to law or the administration of justice, and in disturbance of the public peace"* involving state and local governments. The instances include the Dorr's Rebellion in Rhode Island and three instances in the South during and after Reconstruction. 

The book argues that we should pay more attention to threats to state and local governments. They are a type of canary in the coal mine. They are also more fragile, partially because we respect and sometimes even worship the nation's authority more. 

We are at a perilous moment now and some are starting to talk about the moral necessity about resisting the government. I offer a suggestion about using "shadow institutions" in this effort. The details are sketchy, but I do think it has some potential.  

(I also reference my answer to someone who was upset about a passage reference to "natural" rights, which tends to trigger some people. I felt the reply largely beside the point but did allow me to blather.)

Anyway, the general idea is that if the government we have is not acting legitimately, we need to provide shadow institutions that provide another way. The institutions also need to have some legitimacy and reasonable claim of popular representation. 

So, for instance, the Democratic Party and state/local governments can play a role. Nonetheless, sometimes private groups earn their legitimacy by popular support. The possibility of "popular constitutionalism" by alternative methods was suggested by Mark Tushnet in a book written pre-Barrett. 

We need to think creatively. 

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* The book also provides a dictionary definition of treason, insurrection, and rebellion. 

Treason is an attempt to overthrow a government by someone who owes allegiance to said government.  

Insurrection is "open and active opposition of a number of persons [how many?] to the execution of law in a city or state." Rebellion is "open resistance to lawful authority." 

Both, as we saw with discussions related to 1/6, realistically need some degree of scale.