To the editor,
The aftermath of Jan. 6 became the prelude to Tuesday’s indictment of Donald J. Trump, which itself is the prelude to the main act that will take place in the coming months, not just in the federal courtroom in Washington, D.C. but in every corner of our country and, perhaps, throughout the world. In Abraham Lincoln’s words, we will “test whether our nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”
The trial will be that serious.
Last Tuesday, Trump was formally accused of some of the most grievous crimes possible for a president of the United States to commit.
At the same time, by law, Trump is innocent until proven guilty. Under our system, a person may be charged in court, but legal guilt or innocence is decided by a jury of his or her peers and, if found guilty, punishments are meted out, not at the whim of those in power at the moment, but according to the law.
I’m not a lawyer, just a citizen, but I believe I have outlined in simplest terms the American system of justice. It is not perfect. It can be misused. But it has lasted for more than 225 years.
As Benjamin Franklin observed, we have a republic, “if we can keep it.”
I believe we can, but there are those among us who do not believe in that system. They are motivated by beliefs having little to do with the ideals of the founders as those ideals have evolved over the centuries.
The worst of them are gathering, waiting, telling themselves they are “getting ready” and, I deeply regret to say, they are armed. I believe in our justice system. I am willing to accept the fact that it may not be perfect. But there are those who do not believe in any of that. They believe that if anything happens with which they disagree, it is the result of a conspiracy.
In the current situation, their leader raves. Perhaps for the first time, he finds himself on the road to perdition, a road of his own making, possibly leading to prison. As he sees it, the threat to him is personal. It is existential. Jail time for Donald Trump would be the end of life as he has known it.
So the question arises, “If found guilty, what will he do? What will he say?” His most fervent followers will look to him for guidance. It will be a dangerous time.
I have quoted Benjamin Franklin above, whose final speech to the Constitutional Convention should be better known.
I’ve also quoted the words of our first and greatest Republican president, Lincoln, delivered in the midst of the Civil War.
But let me mention another American Republican leader, a man for whom I never voted but whom I consider to be a true American hero, John McCain.
McCain’s concession speech in November 2008 was one of the finest moments in American history. His words were on a level with Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
In that speech McCain said:
“I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating (Sen. Barack Obama), but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.”
Trump referred to McCain as a “loser.”
The legal proceedings in Washington will be different from the incessant propaganda from Trump and his defenders. Evidence will be presented and weighed. Mike Pence will be a star witness. We don’t know what he will say but the jury will hang on his every word. Propaganda is not “truth.” As Trump and his allies know, it can be used to dull the sharp blade of justice.
Once again, Trump’s political campaign is not about our nation and its problems. It is all about him. And deep down, Trump may sense that, when it comes to keeping himself out of jail. Only by winning the next election can he alone fix it. He is becoming increasingly desperate.
Some of his supporters write of violence that would make Jan. 6 look like child’s play. “There are a lot of assumptions and misconceptions when it comes to the notion of a second civil war within the US… Should civil war erupt (and I’m positive at this point that this is unavoidable), leftists will not last long,” is one example from a far-right writer. They’re a relatively small minority, but they’re there. Some of them will act.
For most of us, it is a different story. When, through the electoral process, every four years, at noon on a January day, in Washington, D.C., Americans witness and celebrate the peaceful transfer of power, it is a moment of pride. In the presence of his predecessor we watch the newly-elected president swear “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Trump was the only president in our history who chose not to attend that ceremony.
Sincerely,
Jim Walsh
Nahant
