Resist Tyranny; Restore Constitutional Rights

Letter to the LNP Editor; text as submitted January 31, 2026

Two hundred fifty years ago colonists in North America declared their independence from tyrannical rule. After seven years of war and eight more of discussion, heated debate, and grudging compromise, they had crafted a Constitution and Bill of Rights to govern their new nation. Though far from perfect, for the most part those documents with amendments have served us reasonably well.

Disturbingly, however, for the last year we have been living under an increasingly lawless and violent regime. Commentary has noted that Trump has not just been violating the Constitution; he is acting as if it doesn’t exist. He is sending heavily armed and masked thugs into cities against which he has vowed retribution. Those troops are terrifying neighborhoods, disappearing people into brutal concentration camps, and murdering observers on the streets.

The flood of lies issuing from government officials about the victims and the circumstances of their killings are easily disproved, but the lasting harm is very real. The provisions contained in the Bill of Rights are being violated with impunity. If Republican lawmakers had any concern for justice and national wellbeing, Trump wouldn’t be in office, and we wouldn’t be living this nightmare.

The brutality of ICE’s occupation of Minneapolis is horrifying, and that is not the only city under siege. In contrast the resistance of the residents, the way they have rallied to protect and care for their neighbors, is inspiration for us all. Just as our founders did in 1776, we must demand an end to tyranny and immediate restoration of our Constitutional and human rights.

Restore Decency and Justice

Letter to the LNP Editor; text as submitted January 3, 2026

As the new year begins, let us consider the year just past and begin to plan a way forward. For those watching closely, the chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration was evident from day one. Lawlessness and corruption increased as the months went on. The compliant Senate approved a host of Trump sycophants for top-level positions, creating a leadership noteworthy for both incompetence and ignorance.

As the atrocities grew, so did the resistance. We are now at a place which in some ways echoes the situation of our country’s founders 250 years ago. And like them, we must rally to reject authoritarian rule, to declare that all are created equal, and to demand a government that respects our rights.

Unlike our 18th century founders, we have a constitution and established laws that provide for the good of the country. But as historian Heather Cox Richardson recently wrote, “It’s not simply that [Trump and his cronies] have broken the laws. They have acted as if the laws, and the Constitution that underpins them, don’t exist.” We must insist that this behavior is totally unacceptable and un-American. It must cease immediately.

Our task in the coming months is to define clearly the kind of governance that we desire, then vote in the November elections for those candidates who demonstrate the skills and determination to restore decency and justice to our nation. Those who are undermining our community and destroying our democracy must be held accountable. Let it not be said that our generation surrendered to dictatorship and evil all that our ancestors bequeathed to us.

Freedom of Religion in the U.S.

Religion is mentioned twice in the U.S. Constitution.  The final provision of Article VI states, “…no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”  The First Amendment, which lists basic rights of the people, begins, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; …”  And the Fourteenth Amendment, enacted in 1868 after the end of the Civil War, extended the protections granted under the Constitution to the states.  “… [N]or shall any state … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Like every other right guaranteed in the Constitution, freedom of religion is not absolute.  Over the years courts have been called on to mediate between conflicting claims, and Congress and state legislators have seen the need to define and amplify or restrict the way freedom of religion is applied in specific instances.  In some cases accommodation is made in favor of religion, such as the granting of conscientious objector status to those who do not believe in participating in armed conflict and the exemption of the Amish from the requirement that young people receive formal education to age 16.  In other cases such accommodations have been denied.  Some examples of the latter are the requirement imposed on the Mormons of Utah to abandon the practice of polygamy before Utah was granted statehood, and the jailing of Schwartzentruber Amish elders for failure to comply with septic system ordinances.