Thoughts About the Fourth of July

Two hundred forty-two years ago we declared our independence from Great Britain, which the American Colonies rightly accused of tyranny and despotism. The list of our grievances is recorded in our Declaration of Independence, which is on permanent display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

While I’m not quite old enough to remember the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I am old enough to remember the calamitous Nixon presidency (1969-1974) that caused a Constitutional crisis and greatly damaged our nation.

Nixon’s assault on our democracy

Richard Nixon, as president, faced charges of obstructing justice by covering up illegal activity of his re-election committee, such as the break-in of the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate office. He fired attorney general Richard Kleindienst amid a Senate investigation into the Watergate scandal (special prosecutor Archibald Cox also was investigating Watergate). Nixon later fired Kleindienst and his deputy for refusing to oust Cox for what Nixon described a “witch hunt,” although Justice official Robert Bork ultimately fired the independent prosecutor, infuriating Congress.

A new special prosecutor was later named, more evidence emerged implicating the President in obstructing justice and, ultimately, Nixon resigned rather than face certain impeachment and conviction.

What sets us apart

What has set our great nation apart over nearly two and a half centuries are our collective will to battle tyranny around the world; set an example of democratic, representative self-rule; and to be a welcoming beacon for those who are denied their inalienable rights in their own countries.

 

Our current president

Today these long-held values are under attack by our current administration:

We no longer take the high road in challenging despots and dictators; our president seems to admire their iron-fisted rule.

President Trump’s political campaign is under investigation for colluding with Russia to undermine our electoral process; already five close associates have been indicted and two have pleaded guilty, indicating they are cooperating with prosecutors.

Trump has made it his mission to refuse entry to the U.S. to those seeking political asylum, in the process tearing apart children from their parents, deporting children whose parents entered the country illegally, and committing other human atrocities. 

There are striking similarities between the Nixon and Trump administrations. Like Nixon, the Trump Administration is being investigated by a special counsel for collusion and other possible crimes. 

Like Nixon, Trump has repeatedly called the investigation a “witch hunt” despite the indictments and is non-committal about whether Russia meddled in the election, while every U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that Russia indeed was complicit. 

Trump has fired one FBI director and one acting director; one acting attorney general and stated on multiple occasions his regret in appointing Jeff Sessions head of the Justice Department for recusing himself from the Russia probe (Sessions, who worked on Trump’s presidential campaign, recused himself because he had met with Russian officials twice during the campaign, and failed to report those meeting until after he was sworn in as attorney general). 

And like Nixon, Trump has refused, to date, to turn over crucial material, such as income-tax filings, or to testify before the special counsel.

On this day when we honor the beginning of our great nation in 1776, let us as patriots and citizens demand that our elected officials represent the foundational values for which we stand.