Reject the whole of Trump’s actions

Let’s add these things up. President Donald Trump’s administration is attacking: due process, free speech, judges, the press, private and public institutions including universities and law firms, Congress’s right to allocate funds, and is sending the Justice Department after individuals. We must stop viewing Trump’s actions separately, and begin seeing them for what they are: parts of a whole. The whole is an attack on the Constitution and democracy. Recognizing this reality is the first step in fighting back against historically clear stages of descent into authoritarianism.

The genius of the “Hands Off” movement — and its resulting ability to attract thousands of protesters — is in allowing each protester to highlight a particular understanding of what’s in jeopardy. But it happily and simultaneously crystalized the concept of “all of the above.”

This is an unnormal time. Honor is required of public officials, institutional leaders, and citizens. Patriots: join together and stand against the whole attack on democracy.

Linda Svoboda

Cedar Rapids