Silent Resistance Killing Our Democracy

Letter to the Editor Graveyard. Sent To the New York Times Editor on September 5, 2018

Re: I Am Part of theResistance Inside the Trump Administration

I suspect many like me are filled with a mix of emotion ranging anywhere from gratitude to deep resentment and anger. During the 2016 election cycle, Hillary Clinton among many Republicans and Democrats exhausted themselves warning the American people that Donald Trump was unfit for office and he lacked the basic qualities to assume the presidency. While many heeded those warnings, Trump dispatched each of his rivals one by one through the primaries and finally on election night.

The silent resistance believes it is protecting the nation. They are not. They put us in greater harm every minute Trump remains in office. And for what reason? So that Republicans retain power?

This anonymous writer believes he/she and a cohort of others are heroes of this sad story, but they are not. Civil rights icons like Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis and Rosa Parks couldn’t hide in the shadows in the fight for equality. They were courageous. Each risked life itself because the cause was greater than themselves. What honor is there in hiding behind anonymity to reassure the American people that “there are adults in the room”?

The Constitution does not permit a “two-track presidency” so that staff and appointees can foil the sitting president and intervene because he is not fit for the office. The president took an oath to preserve, protect and defend. If he is unable to perform those duties, then it is time we put an end to the charade.

The writer evokes the memory of John McCain who dedicated his life in service of this country. He too didn’t hide in the shadows.

The time for hiding and secrecy involving this administration must end.

Eric Hollister Williams

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