To the editor,
People take the law into their own hands when they believe there is no other alternative and they fear the loss of something they hold very dear to them. They are fully aware of the consequences, be it death or imprisonment.
For example, when a wife has received repeated, often life threatening, physical abuse over a period of time, the only solution seems to be to destroy the abuser. Particularly, when hospital, school and police reports have been filled and often withdrawn or ignored. When the wife fears for her life and the lives of her loved ones the stage is set for a tragedy to occur.
A similar scenario could be the reason for the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13. Many citizens believe that the Constitution was written to create a system of checks and balances. In recent years, politically this idea of attempting to provide a fair playing field for all has basically been dropped. The replacement has formed into a political free for all. Our two party system is so divided as to not be functioning. The word chaos is often used to describe Congress with the real fear that our country may soon not be a democracy.
Many examples can be given for the deconstruction of democracy in the US. Although both political parties have contributed to its demise, unfortunately, the Republican party appear to be the most to blame.
In the last year we have witnessed the Republican Party, House and Senate take directives from Donald Trump and act on them (delay in sending money to Ukraine, which cost Ukrainian solders and citizens their lives). Defeating a by partisan plan to help elevated the immigration problem on our southern boarder. Making a mockery of the judicial system by treating Donald Trump to a different standard of defendant behavior. Any other citizen would have quickly been prosecuted and imprisoned for the same crimes.
The behavior of the life time Supreme Court’s ruling to change Constitutional law in regard to the powers given to a sitting President is, for many, the final straw.
In essence our Supreme Court has created an autocratic system of government. This recent act now entitles a president to undertake any criminal act without prosecution in the name of “King and country.” With this act the Supreme Court has put the final nail in the coffin of U.S. democracy.
Joy Potthoff
Bowling Green
