To the editor:
Someone asked me why, a year into Trump’s second term, I am still involved in the resistance movement. My answer was simple: I can’t afford not to be.
Our country is being run by an authoritarian who has no regard for the rule of law, our Constitution. or the well-being of everyday working people. Trump told The New York Times that the only limit on his global power is his “own morality… It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
That is frightening. Trump was found guilty of sexual assault, socialized with and called Jeffrey Epstein a “terrific guy,” and pardoned January 6 rioters who violently attacked Capitol Police officers. He mocks people with disabilities and told his nephew to let his disabled son die.
He is being enabled by congressional Republicans and a Supreme Court majority who believe he is above the law, so they are doing virtually nothing to stop him.
I will keep peacefully protesting and working to take back control of our country from the MAGA movement because I don’t have a choice. I do not want to live in a country that strips healthcare from millions to give tax breaks to rich people, where masked ICE agents murder people in broad daylight or where the president believes that “might makes right,” his justification for sending in the military to kidnap a foreign leader so he can steal that country’s oil.
If you feel that we face a dire threat from Trump’s disregard for the separation of powers, his incompetence in managing the economy, his unprecedented levels of corruption and vicious retaliation against anyone who opposes him, then please join me for the Women’s March Free America Walkout on January 20 at 2 p.m. in front of Great Barrington Town Hall. RSVP here.
Despite his rhetoric and campaign promises, Trump could not care less about the needs of hard-working Americans. When they are struggling to pay for housing, healthcare, childcare, and to put food on the table, he calls affordability a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats.
The tide is turning; some congressional Republicans are beginning to ignore Trump over votes about Obamacare premium tax credits, his war in Venezuela, and honoring Capitol Police. But we must keep the pressure on and escalate our resistance because the threat from Trump to our life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness keeps growing. We must stand united against an authoritarian, lawless regime that invades other countries simply to enrich oil executives while it invades our cities to terrorize immigrants who just want a better life for their kids, free from violence.
In the face of fascism, we cannot back down. We cannot let ourselves be silenced.
Jonathan Perloe
Great Barrington
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