Stand up now or risk losing it all.

It is time to recognize this nation faces a constitutional crisis. Those with political power are unwilling to do anything about it. Everyday people, anxious and concerned, must cast aside hesitation and do more than quietly lament democracy's passing.

According to the Cook Political Report, President Donald Trump won 49.8% of the popular vote in the November election. Democratic challenger Kamala Harris earned 48.3%.

Republicans won slim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate. That established the landscape for Trump and the GOP to successfully push through many of their legislative priorities.

But the deputization of billionaire Elon Musk to go into the federal bureaucracy and all but dismantle whole departments, cancel federal office space leases and force out employees — in the Justice Department, Education and USAID, just for starters — is blatantly unconstitutional.

These functions were created by Congress, only Congress — representing the people — can determine their fate.

Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution establishes Congress and empowers the legislative branch to appropriate funds: "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law."

The 1974 Impoundment Control Act set up a detailed process for what a president could and could not do when disagreeing over whether to spend money that Congress had approved.

Blizzards of lawsuits have been filed to challenge Trump's tactics. Protests have assembled across the country.

Alarm bells must ring even louder. If you are concerned about the direction of this nation, call your member of Congress. Contact other federal lawmakers. Call the White House, 202-456-1111, or send a message via whitehouse.gov/contact/

Connect with your friends and neighbors. Reach out to folks in other states. Make noise.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is an example of a strong and vital voice in Congress.

On the Senate floor, Murray said: "The fact of the matter is — Trump and Musk have yet to find a law they think applies to them. They think because they are rich and powerful, they get to call all the shots — regardless of the courts and Congress. But that's just not how things work in this country. Billionaires are not above the law. Neither are presidents."

Tax forms arriving in the mailbox remind us that, as citizens, we are expected to fund the federal government come April 15.

Taxation without representation prompted rebels in 1773 to smash and throw chests of tea into Boston Harbor. Members of Congress, regardless of party, must assert the body's role as a coequal branch of government or risk another Boston Tea Party moment.

The people write checks to the Treasury Department, not to Musk.

In 1867, English philosopher John Stuart Mill said: "Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing."

Watch. Listen. Act. Call. Pay your taxes because it is the law. Protest because it is your right.

At this anxious moment, those of good faith must heed their conscience so that, in President Abraham Lincoln's words at Gettysburg, " ... government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

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