It seems that we all, each of us, need to ask ourselves:

— Do you want a country that enforces all of its duly passed laws equally and totally or where one top executive can decide which law, or parts of laws, to enforce?

— Do you want a country where a top executive can enforce their will because of a belief that the ends justify the means?

— Do you want a country where the Constitution’s strictly outlined checks and balances and separation of powers can be ignored because a top executive believes something is the right thing to do?

— Do you want a country that rewards illegal activity in spite of the fact that there are legal means to accomplish the same thing?

For over 50 years we have been trading in our personal liberties for dependency and goodies from the government. We have, over all administrations during this time, allowed a consolidation of power in the executive branch and allowed our Congress to be more concerned with their re-election than its constitutional powers of lawmaking and of the purse.

Separations of powers adherence is what distinguished our country from those “President for Life” countries. Yes, they too have “constitutions.”

When asked at the end of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, what type of government “have we got, a Republic or a Monarchy?” Ben Franklin replied: “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

Professor Alexander Tyler in his study on the fall of the Athenian Republic noted that the average life span on a republic was a little more than 200 years.

I, for one, believe that our Republic has never been in more jeopardy than today.

If you are not supportive of the president’s actions from last week, speak up. Silence equals acceptance.

Greg Theriault

Skowhegan