In response to Jonathan Freedland's column on the state of US democracy, readers have expressed deep concern that the damage inflicted by Donald Trump's presidency is irreversible, effectively ending the nation's 250-year experiment in self-governance.
Paid Officials Obey Without Question
Ged Parker, chair of The Friends of Washington Old Hall in Tyne and Wear, highlighted two overwhelming horrors of the Trump presidency. First, paid officials of the state implement his orders with little question due to the reverence for the commander-in-chief concept, which he described as "more revered than most religious leaders." Parker noted that no crazy military or political orders will be disobeyed, though courts may later rescind them after damage is done.
Permanent Reordering of Powers
Second, Parker argued that the reordering of powers between branches of government will not be reversed by any future president, regardless of political affiliation. "They will find them too useful and so will keep them in reserve – just in case," he wrote. The Supreme Court is unlikely to reinterpret these powers in the foreseeable future due to its reverence for the commander-in-chief concept. This leaves Congress having to pass constitutional amendments that must be ratified state by state—a very long process.
Oligarchy and Division
Chris Flowers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, described the US as "destroyed by a wealthy class of oligarchs looking out for each other and their precious corporations, while the average person is left to rot and die." He criticized the president for ignoring science and allowing xenophobia and division to run amok, calling it "sad to see a mighty empire fall in real time."
A Citizen's Lament
Patricia Lay-Dorsey, an 84-year-old white American woman whose father was a CIA founder, wrote that after a youth believing in the innate goodness of the US government, she became an anti-war racial-justice activist in 1989. Now disabled, she speaks out against government abuses on social media. She stated the country has always had a mortal flaw: insistence on exceptionalism. "Even in this time of moral decay, the US continues to insist on believing it is better than everyone else. It is not," she wrote.
She celebrated air force major Jason Watson, who stood alone on the Capitol steps with a sign reading "Impeach, convict, remove" and was immediately arrested. "His action is what democracy looks like," she said, adding that change must come from those who have been oppressed, ignored, and forgotten.
