Stand up now to save democracy
It’s been less than three months since Trump was inaugurated. In that time, we have gone from a democratic country governed by laws and the Constitution to a country ruled by the wishes and whims of one man.
Trump has made himself “unelected king” and many of his supporters eagerly and willingly do whatever he demands. The rights of legal immigrants and visitors are trampled. A legal immigrant is mistakenly sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador and government lawyers defy the orders of a judge to return him to the U.S. and pretend they cannot bring him back.
For millions of people around the world we once were a land of opportunity, justice and decency. Now we cozy up to dictators and authoritarians.
The people and institutions who should be the guardians of our democracy fold before his extortionate demands, i.e., leading universities, major law firms and judges.
Our politicians, with a few exceptions, seem to be unwilling or incapable of standing up to this cruel, uncaring and narcissistic person.
It is up to all of us to demand that our elected representatives say “enough is enough” and start to rein in the excesses of this reckless man. If we don’t, soon the citizens will find that their democracy is gone completely. Once democracy is gone, it is very hard to restore.
Christopher Melby
Arlington Heights