How much are we Americans willing to take from this administration?
It’s bad enough that people are fired, benefits diminished, the deficit increased by trillions and tax breaks go to the rich while the poor get poorer. He bombed Iran without approval from Congress. Unable to stop the Ukraine/Russian war he promised would end on his first day in office, he starts another.
He exploits the Oval Office to fatten his family interests and gives orders to arrest people suspected of being in this country illegally, jailing legal residents on trumped up charges. Good Lord, help us!
My father, a Mexican immigrant like thousands of others, enlisted in World War II and returned a decorated hero. He endured bigotry because of his dark skin and broken English, but taught his children respect for the Constitution and the rights of all citizens. Today, he might get deported.
Meanwhile, the president holds a parade with soldiers and tanks that damage asphalt roads. Will he pay for those repairs? Hell, no, he never paid El Paso for police protection from the first campaign.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla was manhandled and thrown to the floor when he wanted to ask questions. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s staff surely provided a brief identifying California’s senators and representatives. But she and her officers ignored the Senate seal on his jacket and humiliated the nation.
My head spins with the many violations committed by this administration that was sworn to protect our rights provided by the Constitution.
As regional director for U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, every year I visited schools throughout West Texas speaking to fourth and fifth graders about the Constitution they were studying. It was gratifying to see their faces light up when they realized how this more than 200-year-old document guarantees our rights.
Those students must wonder where we went wrong. But we didn’t go wrong! The Ozymandias did! (Ozymandias means a megalomaniac tyrant whose arrogance is undone by time.)
How much more are we Americans willing to take from this administration and the Ozymandias mouthing diplomacy while ordering bombings?
So far, our rights to freedom of religion, to assemble, free speech, bear arms and against unreasonable search remain intact, albeit threatened.
We must send a message to him and those gutless Cabinet members sitting on their hands. Let them know that we demand respect for the fundamental values of our Constitution. Flood representatives’ and senators’ offices with calls and letters to show that we stand shoulder to shoulder against those who threaten to change the values and beliefs that made America great.
The time is now!
Margarita Velez is an El Paso writer and former district director for U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas.
The post Opinion: The Trump administration threatens our Constitution. Fight back appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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