To the editor:
I’m not a lawyer, just a gray-haired old lady sitting in my rocker watching, reading and listening to the news of the day. So much of it is extremely distressing and leaves me wondering what’s happened to the “rule of law” in this country.
Watching from here in Marblehead as the sitting President of the United States down there in Washington, D.C. dictates to HIS Attorney General, to the head of HIS FBI and to all his other appointees how they are going to apply the law on behalf of the United States of America (and for the benefit of Donald Trump) doesn’t strike me as operating under the “rule of law”.
Randomly taking thousands of immigrants (and people of color) off the streets, out of their homes and places of work on a daily basis without the legal protections to which they are entitled also leads me to question if we are still operating under the “rule of law” in America.
To make sure I really understood the concept, I looked up its definition.
From Wikipedia the rule of law is “the mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secures a nonarbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power.”
From britannica.com the “rule of law is a political and legal ideal that all people and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers, government officials, and judges.”
Using these definitions which include concepts such as “prevents the arbitrary use of power” and “all are accountable to the same laws”, it seems to me, that at least at the federal level, we are operating under a whole new set of rules that don’t seem to be working for the benefit of We The People.
Watching from afar it appears that anyone who has ever crossed the president or can potentially threaten his authority will be in his crosshairs. Not so far down the road any one of us could be seen as “the enemy” as he seeks to further expand his control into all areas of our lives.
From what I’m reading, there seems to be minimal constraints on his authority, at least from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Congress. Trump loyalists in D.C. are prepared to do his bidding, no matter the costs to their constituents. The President is acting like an authoritarian leader, demanding strict obedience from his devotees…and getting it.
So, what does this mean for our country? Are we still a democracy or are we (not so) gradually morphing into an autocracy? If that’s the way we’re headed, I fear we’re going to end up living in a country of curtailed rights led by people who are morally bankrupt, enacting their own oppressive agendas. The outcomes will be devastating.
So, what do we do about this? I’m just an old lady with no answers. What do you think?
Bonnie Grenier
Sagamore Road
