That was the title of this year's Constitution Day presentation, presented on September 17th by San Joaquin College of Law Constitution Professor Jeffrey G. Purvis.

The short answer to the question is “no.” Professor Purvis led his audience of nearly 70 attendees through the various situations and circumstances that have led to this question, and then backed-up to what he tells students in all his Constitution classes: the Constitution is not a machine which, once set in motion, operates automatically to protect our freedom. Rather, it is the people who must operate the machine, and do so in good faith, rather than “gaming” its instruction for their own personal purposes.

The professor lamented what he sees as the ineffectiveness of the “checks and balances” among the three branches of government, with the Republican Administration controlling the Executive Branch, the Senate, and slowly overtaking the Judicial Branch by fast-tracking its own choices to sit on the bench.

Professor Purvis pointed to not only the admiration of dictators expressed by the President, but also his mirroring of their pattern of portraying opponents as criminals and traitors, along with selecting the judges who would decide the fate of those opponents. Indeed, just days before the presentation, Attorney General William Barr asked federal prosecutors to consider charging protestors with sedition.

As usual, the presentation began with the Professor's disclaimer that the opinions about to be expressed were his alone, and not those of the Law School. And as in previous Constitution Day events, the presentation ended with a series of questions from the audience.

One participant questioned whether the President’s current “audacious statements” weren't just more than the same campaign rhetoric which won him the White House in 2016. Purvis replied that the Administration’s move to disrupt mail service, for example, shows Trump’s statements are not just bluster.

Others wanted to know what would happen if the Prescient lost reelection and refused to leave. The Professor said he hoped Republicans and the military would back the Constitution rather than the party, but it's not assured. Still another participant wanted to know if people still believe the President was fraudulently elected and the 2016 victory actually belonged to Hillary Clinton. Professor Purvis pointed out that while Clinton had won the popular vote, Donald Trump was legally put into the White House by the Electoral College, which he called “an anti-democratic anachronism,” and expressed his belief that it should be discarded.

Professor Purvis has delivered the Constitution Day presentation every year since the first Constitution Day more than 15 years ago. In the past, his topics have included titles such as “Death Panels Are Trying to Kill My Grandma,” “Virtual Mayhem: Why Does the US Supreme Court Want Our Children to Become Violent Killers?” “Having Destroyed Marriage, What Are the Gays Up to Now?” and “Is It Constitutional for Me to Scream at Town Hall Meetings so that No One Else Can Be Heard?”