Fragile Core Values

7/21/20

It’s a gross understatement to say that I’m disappointed to learn that people who want to exercise their first amendment rights have been confronted by federal marshals and homeland security troops, operating without identification and without the express invitation or consultation with local authorities. These paramilitary forces have been filmed abducting citizens and spiriting them away in unmarked cars, physically beating and intimidating people with no apparent justification, and shooting tear gas and rubber bullets into crowds gathered for perfectly legal protests. What has happened to America?

The Bill of Rights has been one of America’s most treasured documents. It truly separates us from all but a handful of other countries, but what’s happening in Portland and presumably what’s in store for other cities makes a mockery of those guaranteed freedoms.

For those who may not have read the Constitution for a while, here’s what the First Amendment says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

In this instance, congress hasn’t instituted any law in violation of the amendment, but the intent of the amendment is clear. The right to assemble peaceably and to petition the Government to redress grievances is paramount, and the Trump administration has abrogated that right. Even if some minority of those gathered might not have been as “peaceable” as some might like, their behavior doesn’t invalidate the constitutional guarantees that apply to everyone else. The heavy-handed actions on the part of the Trump administration should be recognized by all Americans as a threat to our core values.

And speaking of core values… Another one of the great things about America is the dedication to a peaceful transfer of power. We all know that Trump promulgated the notion that elections can be rigged, sowing doubt on the legitimacy of any election result. He did this before the 2016 election, and he’s at it again now. When asked directly by Chris Wallace in a recent Fox News interview if Trump would respect the coming election’s results, Trump wouldn’t commit. “I’ll have to see,” he said. He said the same thing in 2016. People didn’t take him seriously then. Now they should.

The fact that we can imagine Trump disparaging the election results and refusing to leave the white house is… unimaginable. But think of the possibilities. Refusing to abdicate if the election fails to validate Trump’s personal sense of entitlement would inevitably lead to a crisis. His diehard supporters would presumably endorse his continuing as king (oops, president), and either that happens or the generals would go into the White House and physically toss him out. Either way, it ain’t pretty.

We’re in this position because too few of the Republican leadership have had the moral courage to call out Trump for the danger to Democracy that he is. The fact that he could make any statement in defiance of the will of the people in an election and that this statement is not vociferously condemned by his party compatriots is obscene. Trump is surrounded by sycophants who enable his worst Anti-American instincts, and those in positions to check his excesses sit back and watch the destruction of our norms and institutions as it happens.

Thank goodness we have an election coming up in three-and-a-half months. I just hope the outcome is sufficiently decisive to bring this nightmare of an administration to its rightful end. God help us if it’s not.