To the Editor:
“For Trump, Justice Means Vengeance” (editorial, Jan. 18) concludes, “On behalf of Americans who are now living without a functioning system of federal law and order, Congress should step up and end this self-interested destruction.” Yet all three branches of government are failing, and hoping that one branch will rescue us from the others is a form of magical thinking.
The citizens’ last real safeguard is the continued ability to participate in fair elections. Preserving that right is essential to saving this grand experiment in self-government — and increasingly, it is the only hope to which we can reasonably cling.
Many Americans view participation in self-governance, particularly voting, as a moral or civic duty. Yet even in 2024, fewer than two-thirds of eligible voters cast ballots. If and when there is a return to more normalized leadership, we must confront voter inertia directly.
Term limits deserve renewed consideration; lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court and six-year Senate terms limit voters’ ability to reassess their choices in a timely way. What appears to be apathy may instead reflect a form of learned helplessness.
To everything there is a season. Ours is not a season for street rioting, nor even for making “good trouble,” to use the civil rights leader John Lewis’s phrase. It is a season to vote — to use the remaining tools of democracy to end this madness before it is too late.
Bennett Kashdan Wakefield, R.I.
To the Editor:
Reading this editorial, I was reminded of the famous dissent of Justice Louis Brandeis in Olmstead v. United States (1928), in which he warned of the consequences of government lawlessness: “If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.”
What the United States is now facing is as ominous a situation as Justice Brandeis could have envisioned. Your editorial beyond a doubt makes clear the dangers this administration poses to America’s commitment to constitutional governance and the rule of law.
I have never been more concerned, indeed frightened, about the future of America and the directions in which this administration is taking our society.
Lee A. Spielmann New York
Ordinary Americans Are Protesting
To the Editor:
Re “They Were Ordinary Germans. We Are Ordinary Americans,” by Shalom Auslander (Opinion guest essay, Jan. 16):
I disagree with Mr. Auslander. Ordinary Americans today are not at all similar to ordinary Germans during Hitler’s reign. There are large protests throughout the country every weekend. There are confrontations with government forces every day. There are numerous lawsuits being brought against President Trump. He has lost many of them.
Ordinary Americans detest what happened to Renee Good; ordinary Americans are speaking up against this regime every single day. This is not fascist Germany! We ordinary Americans are not going about our everyday lives accepting this despicable attempt to turn our democracy into a dictatorship.
Ruth Menken Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Open-Ended Questions
To the Editor:
I eagerly read “The Two Questions We Should Stop Asking This Year,” by Carlos Lozada (column, Jan. 4), as I teach a course on dialogue facilitation as well as history and religious studies, and know the importance of potent questions. I teach students to write research essays, and one of the most critical skills to hone is that of asking worthwhile questions.
But I took issue with Mr. Lozada’s criticism of the following question: “What has surprised you most about [fill in the blank]?” I think that this is often a useful place to start, as it suggests that the person asking the question is open to thinking about the topic from new angles. If we are willing to ask only targeted questions, we may miss a lot.
Sure, Mr. Lozada is correct that follow-up questions are a necessary aid for pushing toward deeper analysis, but if we don’t start with the very open questions, we may find ourselves missing out on an individual’s unique and valuable perspectives.
And I believe we live in an era where we cannot afford to overlook anyone’s distinct perspectives, as you never know whose ideas may lead us to a better world.
Eliza Young Barstow Corvallis, Ore.
The post To Halt Trump’s Abuse of Power: Vote appeared first on New York Times.
