L.J. Schaffnit: Time to change the things we cannot accept in America

To The Daily Sun,

For an authoritarian government to thrive, it must have an enemy. They rely on the presence of enemies, both real and manufactured, to maintain power and serve as a tool to justify repression, consolidate support and deflect criticism. These enemies provide a convenient rationale for restricting freedoms and suppressing dissent, while at the same time claiming to protect the population from these dangerous threats.

Through ICE arrests, criminal investigations and executive orders, Donald Trump has launched a sweeping campaign of retribution against his enemies; political opponents, the free press, judges, lawyers and law firms, universities, etc. We are witnessing an assault on our most fundamental rights in almost every sector, and “executive orders” are Trump’s way of circumventing Congress and violating civil liberties. Legal law or moral law — Trump ignores them both.

Trump uses migrants at our borders as a tool to portray himself as a patriot, defending the nation against the “invasion” of external enemies. These migrants are being used to generate fear by painting them with a broad brush and accusing them of being “murderers,” “rapists," “drug dealers,” “poisoning our country and stealing our jobs” — he strips them of their humanity.

We must resist Trump — not because we hate America, but because we love it enough to fight for the soul of it. We can no longer accept things we cannot change. It is now time to change the things we cannot accept.

L.J. Schaffnit

Gilmanton