Trump & The Rule of Law

If a liberal President were being tormented in this way, would I care? I hope so. 

"Show me the man and I’ll find you the crime"

Lavrentiy Beria

You are seeing this quote and quotes like it on social media since Donald Trump became the first former US President in history to be convicted of a felony. Time to party if you are on the Left. Or is it? 

Alan Dershowitz, a liberal Democrat and famous for being one of the foremost legal minds concerning criminal law, was quoted as saying that many on the Left have secretly contacted him admitting that the constitution has been ignored in this case and respect for the rule of law has been jeopardized. But at least, they told Dershowitz, we are saving democracy by preventing Trump’s reelection. 

Saving democracy by destroying it. Makes sense. 

But as we look down on the Left for reducing the United States of America to a Banana Republic by standing pat while the regime in power uses the judicial system to torment the more popular challenger (at least according to polling data), I am struck with a humbling thought. 

If everything were reversed, would I be doing what the Left is doing now?

In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln did not need to admit that if he were raised differently he might be on the side of the slave holding South. But Lincoln did just that. This is a humbling admission that should give us all pause. 

I want to believe that if the Republicans were harassing Biden or Obama with made up charges, causing them to lose elections they otherwise would have won, I would do what is right. I would stand up and say “This is wrong.This is reducing us to banana republic-status”.

At least I hope I would. 

Martin Niemöller, the German Lutheran pastor, wrote the now famous poem "First they came..." which describes the dangers of not standing up against oppression directed at various groups. The poem describes how quickly regimes can go from targeting unpopular groups to eventually targeting everyone. We must not fall victim to the same mentality now.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights written by the UN’s General Assembly in 1948 said that when you rob the universal rights of a segment of a society you jeopardize the rights of the larger population.  Should anyone be rejoicing about the events currently unfolding? Does the end justify the means?

So we, as Americans, stand at a precipice. At this moment in history, if we do nothing we will live in a country where the party in power can harass and even arrest political opponents. This is something we thought until recently only happened in other countries, not here and not even in “respected” countries like EU members, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, etc. 

Americans should care a lot more than they do about this historic turning point.

The Ecstasy, Agony and Awkwardness of the Trump Conviction.                     The verdict is cold comfort for many on the left who worry it won’t change his front-runner status.                                                                                                                          

-New York Times headline, May 31st 2024

The focus is Trump’s front-runner status, not whether or not it was politically motivated to delay prosecution seven years so it is put smack in the middle of an election year and put an unprecedented gag order on a presidential candidate. The only concern here is that it might not “change his front-runner status”? Really? 

When commenting on the famous photograph that shows a sea of humanity giving the Nazi salute while a solitary man refuses to give the salute, Dr Jordan Peterson made a point about moral courage. People want to believe they would have the moral strength to defy tyranny, but history and psychological studies suggest that resisting social and political pressure is extraordinarily difficult and rare.

In the same way, Alan Dershowitz and Jonathan Turley are standing practically alone on the left against this perverting of our legal system that they see as a real threat to our democracy. Far more people on that side are quietly shaking their heads but lack the fortitude to speak out. 

In some parallel universe, if Biden wanted to push for some Green Initiative that would give our Federal Government even more power over our lives and Republicans created a law just to stop Biden, honestly, I would love it. I would cheer it on. But once I internalized its threat to our system of government, would I stand and echo what Dershowitz and Turley have been saying lately? 

According to Dr. Peterson, probably not. Boy, I hope Dr. Peterson is wrong about that. 

In Robert Bolt’s classic novel “A Man for All Seasons”, there is a scene where William Roper is debating Sir Thomas Moore. Roper makes it clear that he would not give the devil “the benefit of the law” and Moore replies “…would you cut a great road through the law?” meaning, would you destroy the law in order to punish the devil? Sir Thomas Moore makes it obvious that he would not do this because by cutting a great road through the law the law would not be there to protect him. Even if it would be great to punish the devil, it would not be worth it.

We have to own our democracy. We need to argue repeatedly that setting a precedent like this is the way down, not a path to something better; this will destroy the democracy we cherish. I want to believe that shining a light on the perils of this precedent will make more people–left and right–realize what is at stake in time to stand up against it. 

The Left has no interest in these considerations as they go after the orange-skinned devil, but can we blame them?