No one is above the law.
We have heard this said many times. Recent events and attitudes, however, indicate that some people believe their favorite politician is indeed above the law, untouchable by prosecutors for activities clearly against both federal and state laws.
They cite the danger of prosecuting their favorite person, because the reaction from devoted followers would bring riots and mayhem. Therefore, the reasoning goes, let him do what he does because any attempt to stop him or punish him would be dangerous. That reasoning does not apply to so-called ordinary citizens, but only to the leader.
This is how dictators rise to power.
Historians can supply a long list of political leaders who rose to power by exploiting and magnifying the fears and prejudices of the many against the minority few.
There are many alive today who survived the bigotry of the Holocaust.
Bigotry has long been the cause of attempts to gain control of a government by targeting a minority few.
It has happened in America numerous times, as some gained control and forced others into circumstances that endangered their health and safety.
Here are some examples:
-- The Trail of Tears, when Eastern native tribes were forced from their homes to regions in the West.
-- World War Two, when Americans of Japanese heritage were forced from their homes in California to encampments in the West.
-- In Eastern states, people of German and Italian background were closely watched and some even imprisoned.
-- Even today, Americans of color are harassed and watched as they try to go about their everyday lives. This includes those whose ancestors were brought here as slaves several hundred years ago.
America has long been a country of refuge for people escaping violence and poverty in other nations. Currently, many of these refugees are coming here from Latin America.
The cause of their flight is little different from those in the past. Neither is the bigotry that greets them.
America now faces the danger of a dictatorship set up by a man who insists that he is above the law; that historic practice and the Constitution do not apply to him and to his adherents.
He has promised full pardons for those convicted during the rioting and rebellion of January 6, 2021.
This assumes he again gains the presidency and escapes the Constitutional provision that those convicted of criminal activity cannot hold public office in America.
Unless Congress as well as state and federal prosecutors decide not to prosecute because he is above the law.
But is he?
Is anyone?
We have heard this said many times. Recent events and attitudes, however, indicate that some people believe their favorite politician is indeed above the law, untouchable by prosecutors for activities clearly against both federal and state laws.
They cite the danger of prosecuting their favorite person, because the reaction from devoted followers would bring riots and mayhem. Therefore, the reasoning goes, let him do what he does because any attempt to stop him or punish him would be dangerous. That reasoning does not apply to so-called ordinary citizens, but only to the leader.
This is how dictators rise to power.
Historians can supply a long list of political leaders who rose to power by exploiting and magnifying the fears and prejudices of the many against the minority few.
There are many alive today who survived the bigotry of the Holocaust.
Bigotry has long been the cause of attempts to gain control of a government by targeting a minority few.
It has happened in America numerous times, as some gained control and forced others into circumstances that endangered their health and safety.
Here are some examples:
-- The Trail of Tears, when Eastern native tribes were forced from their homes to regions in the West.
-- World War Two, when Americans of Japanese heritage were forced from their homes in California to encampments in the West.
-- In Eastern states, people of German and Italian background were closely watched and some even imprisoned.
-- Even today, Americans of color are harassed and watched as they try to go about their everyday lives. This includes those whose ancestors were brought here as slaves several hundred years ago.
America has long been a country of refuge for people escaping violence and poverty in other nations. Currently, many of these refugees are coming here from Latin America.
The cause of their flight is little different from those in the past. Neither is the bigotry that greets them.
America now faces the danger of a dictatorship set up by a man who insists that he is above the law; that historic practice and the Constitution do not apply to him and to his adherents.
He has promised full pardons for those convicted during the rioting and rebellion of January 6, 2021.
This assumes he again gains the presidency and escapes the Constitutional provision that those convicted of criminal activity cannot hold public office in America.
Unless Congress as well as state and federal prosecutors decide not to prosecute because he is above the law.
But is he?
Is anyone?
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