While visiting our son Joseph in Thailand during his two-year assignment as a Journeyman for the International Mission Board, he remarked that in his host country, “traffic laws are mere suggestions.” I laughed and have remembered that observation.
Today, I feel as though I’m living in a time when the Constitution and the rule of law are treated as suggestions. I am not aware of another time in United States history when the Bill of Rights has been so openly attacked by the ruling political party.
For example, free speech on Texas university campuses has been curtailed by the state legislature and the governor. Addressing issues of diversity, equality and inclusion can now be grounds for suspension or termination. Students, rewarded for spying on their peers, are turning in faculty—reminiscent of neighbors in Cold War Russia.
These Texas politicians are attempting to undermine the essential work of introducing a world of new ideas to university students. They are overreaching and overruling university boards in their management of these institutions, a move that violates accreditation standards.
At worst, this imperils accreditation. At best, it curtails exposure to a wide array of knowledge.
This shift moves the university from a place of education to one of indoctrination. Once that intrusion begins, every political party in power will feel entitled to change the curriculum.
Another recent issue is the suppression of student speech. It started with protests against the war in Gaza and now includes opinions about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Both students and faculty have been censured or dismissed for voicing the “wrong” opinion about Kirk’s death.
Beyond the academy, we are witnessing heightened threats of prosecution against journalists and media organizations publishing articles at odds with the official White House narrative. Broadcasters, news outlets and reporters have been sued for speaking unfavorably of the sitting president.
The problem is that this president is a criminal who has assembled his own national crime syndicate to punish, pillage and profit from his office and influence. While we have had presidents who were not models of virtue, this one has a lifelong record of scamming, cheating and money laundering for Russian oligarchs. A former KGB agent once called the president a great, long-standing Russian asset.
The Department of Justice is being weaponized to investigate political opponents and prosecute leaders who refuse to show fealty to the president. Competent, well-educated and proven experts are being replaced with sycophants whose only real qualification is loyalty to the president. As a result, our nation is teetering on the brink of a constitutional crisis unlike any we have seen before.
Sadly, there’s more. Constitutional rights are being ignored as migrants are rounded up. Like all “fishing expeditions,” these sweeps often snag innocent people.
When this happens, the victims are not released with apologies. Instead, they are often jailed and moved to “detention centers,” separated from their families without legal representation.
Sometimes, this swift, anonymous action by armed and masked agents moves people to undisclosed sites. This is not law enforcement or lawful. It is anonymous terrorism masquerading as lawful detention.
What can we do about this?
First, contact the regional accrediting associations that oversee universities in your state. Encourage them to remind educational institutions of their responsibilities under the First Amendment.
Second, reach out to your state representatives and senators to voice your concerns about the restrictions on free speech for students, faculty and institutions.
Freedom of speech and due process are not suggestions. They are guaranteed rights for everyone living in this country. These rights are being violated every single day by this administration and the party in power.
We must remember that we are only powerless if we choose to be silent.
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A private practice counselor working with veterans and survivors of trauma. Previously, Chancellor served four churches in Texas for 33 years, then ran a Mental Health Department of Alan B. Polunsky Maximum Security prison which houses death row.
