To the Editor:
I seriously doubt most Americans view our present political circumstances as I do, but I believe a case could be made that we are reliving the dilemma the colonists faced: the government that held authority over them didn’t represent them.
I recall (so vividly) elementary school lessons pertaining to “taxation without representation.” We need not prove whether we can govern ourselves but perhaps need reminding that our government doesn’t own us; we own it. We’re obligated, therefore, to reclaim what is rightfully ours or we will lose it.
Make no mistake, we’ve allowed ourselves to be ruled by a conman, liar and master grifter who, promising peace, has brought only suffering and economic collapse to an already troubled world. Trump incited an armed mob to attack our Capitol and kill its defenders if necessary, to overturn an election he knew he’d lost. He then wrongly pardoned 1,600 insurrectionists. This president has been convicted of more crimes than the vast majority of the people he’s deported.
The United States is the undisputed epicenter of a chaotic and shattered society of nations. We have never looked weaker, more ridiculous, incompetent, and untrustworthy to allies and adversaries alike around the world than we do right now.
Consequently, a new world order has emerged, and we’re not in it. To our allies, our credibility no longer exists. This administration has tossed that overboard along with our dignity, our integrity, and the last vestiges of our moral conscience.
To the rest of the world, we appear a seriously flawed society with the intellectual characteristics akin to and paired with the moral virtues and integrity of a fur ball.
Through it all, even as Trump purges the experienced and knowledgeable leadership from, the Department of Homeland Security to the Pentagon, the veteran community remains deafeningly silent, seemingly willing to be complicit in this administration’s wrongdoings.
However, one USAF Major, Jason Watson, carried out what the U.S. Congress (together with veterans organizations: the American Legion, VFW and others) should have. Major Watson stood on the Capitol steps (in uniform), knowing full well he might sacrifice both his career and his freedom, and demanded President Trump be impeached, held accountable for his crimes against the Constitution, violations of U.S. and international laws, and removed from office. One man regarded his oath as sacred and acted on it.
Americans must understand, that there can be no justice in a nation where men like Trump are allowed to flourish. Does this once principled and prosperous nation not have a sufficient number of men and women of courage and enough soul left to say: “No more — enough???”
David L. Snell
Franklin