Follow impeachment proceedings wisely

I am writing this as the House managers continue to present their case to the Senate against the president. I have heard the concerns expressed about the Senate's unwillingness to conduct a fair trial.

First, it should never be easy to remove a president from office where the issue of guilt is being contested, and where a crime has not been committed. Second, the thoughts of the Founding Fathers are thrown around by both sides in a rather haphazard fashion. The Founding Fathers set this process up not with the Supreme Court setting the rules for trial but the Senate deciding trial rules. They also granted sole authority to the House to conduct the impeachment. Therefore, impeachment and the Senate trial are not legal proceedings, but are purely political theater.

Rules used previously in impeachment or trial have no precedent. The majority parties, as it was for the impeachment and now for the Senate trial, have tilted the game in their favor per rules governed by party self interest. Trying to squeeze the square box of the impeachment hearings and the Senate trial into the round hole of the legal system makes no sense.

I am astounded that what the Founding Fathers gave us, written by candlelight, delivered over dirt roads by horse and buggy, still works as well as it does in an age of smartphones, personal assistants, the 24 hour news cycle and social media. Frustration with the process may be a signal that we are overly and unduly loyal to our chosen side as opposed to some failure of the Constitution.

I hope that people watch as much of the trial as possible and make an effort to understand the arguments being made by each side. If you favor one position, then truly make the effort to understand the other side. Immediately after the telecast, shut off the TV and formulate your own thoughts about what has occurred and what is going on in our country.

Vary your news sources to hear thoughts that may challenge your own. Test your opinions by finding people with diverse opinion with whom you can discuss the issues openly (that may be hard to do). Then take the time to make your vote count when the opportunity presents itself.

David Clark

Libertyville