Dear Editor,
What is it going to take for GOP members/voters to finally realize what is happening to our democracy, what the current administration is doing to the fabric of our country? We are supposed to be the UNITED STATES, not the Blue States or the Red States. The USA has always been a melting pot, respecting and upholding the rights articulated in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and adhering to the rule of law. How many of you are celebrating the actions of the ICE/ BP Thugs, those armed, uncontrolled, allegedly unaccountable criminals attacking, terrorizing, assaulting, and murdering not only undocumented migrants, and immigrants who entered the country legally seeking asylum, but also U.S Citizens exercising their First Amendment Right to protest peacefully? When will you start to understand that the ultimate goal of the administration is to shield the president and his associates from the contents of the Epstein files?
How many lies will you tolerate? How many times will you be told that what you see and hear is not what happened, but to believe the lies from the highest levels of our government?
THINK, were democrats considered an “enemy” prior to 2015? Was the mainstream media considered the “enemy” prior to 2015? Were migrants, immigrants, and people of color considered “scum” and “animals” prior to 2015? Were people coming to this country seeking political asylum mislabeled by a person who apparently doesn’t understand what political asylum is, as people who were released from asylums to invade our country, prior to 2015? Why shouldn’t people who come to this country to escape the danger and hardship of authoritarian regimes not have the opportunity to legally seek asylum, work hard, and follow the legal path to citizenship?
When will it finally register on you that the goal is to impact or cancel the midterms to shield Trump and his administration from eventual removal from office for all of the crimes perpetuated not only against the people of the United States, but also the violations of the constitutional framework and the Rule of Law governing our democracy? What will it take for all you fortunate people who flourished under that rule of law, who succeeded in building a comfortable life through hard work under that framework, and in some cases had the good fortune of access to family and associates well-positioned to facilitate that success?
When will it dawn on those less fortunate people who struggle paycheck to paycheck, that the person they enthusiastically support doesn’t give a damn about them and considers them rubes, human ATMs he can easily convince to buy his overpriced cheap merchandise and send him the few dollars they can’t afford, and blame their situation on immigrants and democrats. No one likes to admit they’ve been conned, but it’s time for eyes to be opened, and rational contemplative thought to be engaged.
Everyone needs to understand the danger posed by this administration’s actions in demonizing more than half the country and belittling our allies throughout most of the Western world. What’s it going to take for you to realize that you’ve been had?
Michael S. Celentano, Greensboro