Ten Out of Ten Ain’t Bad |
Photograph Source: United States Post Office Department – Public Domain
The Trump administration loves to advertise its trophies. Biggest economy. Strongest borders. Toughest posture anyone has ever seen. But there is another category in which it may well claim a perfect record: alleged violations of all ten amendments in the Bill of Rights.
Ten out of ten. A clean sweep. If the Bill of Rights were a bowling lane, this would be a strike in every frame.
Let us start with the First Amendment, that inconvenient obstacle guaranteeing freedom of speech, press, and assembly. The administration’s relationship with these freedoms has been, at best, strained. When federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis resulted in the killing of Alex Pretti, a bystander recording events, the right to observe and document government activity became collateral damage.
Add to that the use of tear gas and chemical irritants to disperse crowds, and the hostility toward journalists branded “enemies of the people.” One reporter was derided publicly; another saw his office searched and files taken. Peaceful protest, that old-fashioned method of petitioning the government for redress, has too often been treated like a nuisance rather than a constitutional guarantee.
The Second Amendment has not fared much better under the weight of selective enthusiasm. When armed demonstrators aligned with the administration’s political interests gathered in previous years, they were praised as patriots. Yet when public anger surged after immigration enforcement shootings, the presence of firearms at rallies suddenly became less charming.
Apparently, the right to bear arms is most robust when the optics cooperate. Constitutional consistency has never been a........