I’ve gone through many changes since moving to Bandera in 2019. Becoming a member of a political minority was a new experience for me, coming from left-leaning urban and suburban settings before. As I settled in, I quickly grew tired of living in an echo chamber that required me to ignore the existence of friends and neighbors who thought quite differently from me. I naturally fit into an Independent mindset, that requires me to think about positions I take rather than just follow a party line.
I then started learning about the fundamental structure of our nation and what makes it so special, regardless of which party is at the helm at any given moment. Yes, I care about the outcomes of the legislative process, the ebbs and flows of more liberal and more conservative worldviews, and how our nation expresses its values during any given period of time. But I took for granted that our nation was built upon the bedrock of the Constitution, a truly brilliant document that was crafted by men who were determined never to live under the rule of a king again.
Yes, they had personal flaws like all humans do. Which in a way makes the Constitution even more remarkable: to describe the government they wanted to build, they used the concept that all men are created equal, even at a time when this was very far from the truth. I believe they could see it, even through the murky lens of slavery and unequal rights for everyone but white men. They could see the outlines of how a true democracy would work. The Constitution is the reason our nation has not only survived but risen to the pinnacle of world esteem; we have a system that guides our decision- making and shows us how to make changes as they are needed, while still remaining securely within the solid framework of the Constitution. Everyone, regardless of political party, used to agree with that statement.
Imagine a neighbor that you’ve never gotten along with decides he really wants to mess with you, and he constructs an elaborate hoax designed to incriminate you for some wrongdoing, let’s say damage to his property, or theft, or grabbing his wife over the fence. You have every reason to expect that the charges, while very disturbing and disruptive to your life, will be found upon investigation to be false. You know it’s not just your word against his; you expect legal procedures to be in place that won’t magically solve your problem but will allow for a reasonable and rational approach to proving your innocence. That’s called “due process.”
Due process is the legal principle that ensures fair treatment through the normal judicial system, as a citizen’s right. It requires that laws and legal proceedings be fair, and that individuals are given notice and an opportunity to be heard before the government can deprive them of life, liberty, or property. It protects individuals from arbitrary power and guarantees that the government operates within the rule of law. By ensuring fairness, accountability, and transparency, due process strengthens public trust in our institutions and safeguards the rights and freedoms that are the foundation of a free society.
TheTrumpadministration isn’t even hiding the fact that due process means nothing to them, as they pursue and strongarm anyone who displeases them. In one of the most egregious examples, they arrested a Venezuelan man, who was legally in the US, on the false grounds that he was a member of a murderous Venezuelan gang and sent him to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The administration has admitted that they made a mistake but say they can’t be expected to do anything about it since the man is now in another country. The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that they do have to do something about it, but who knows how long that will take?
Back to you and your neighbor. What if he’s friends with people high up in the government, or in law enforcement? What if they break down your door and throw you in jail? What if your lawyer can’t get access to you or any of the evidence? What if you lose your job and your family can’t pay your mortgage? That would never happen, you say? Tell that to the man in prison in El Salvador. Tell it to the judge (that you won’t get to see because they haven’t even filed formal charges against you). I agree with you, I never thought that could happen here either. Maybe it won’t happen to you, but Trump could easily take a dislike to me, right?
I believe it is starting to dawn on some Trump supporters that this was not what they meant when they gave him a narrow 1.57% margin of votes last November. Without due process, if the King doesn’t like something he simply destroys it. If he likes something, he promotes it without a second thought. Have a green card? The King doesn’t care, you protested in support of the Palestinians so you get deported for being antisemitic. Want a green card? Five million dollars lets you jump the line and skip the entire vetting process. The Constitution says No? The King will simply ignore it, and then ignore the court rulings that tell him No.
We, the People, are the only ones who can stop these violations of our Constitution, and the only way we can do it is to contact our Representatives in Congress, most especially the Republicans (that means Chip Roy, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz for us), andtellthemTrumphasgone too far. This is not a political issue; it is a Constitutional crisis that could take us all down.
Susan Hull is a retired clinical psychologist and an Independent voter. She recalls the words of Joni Mitchell: you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
.png)
