Readers’ letters to The Hartford Courant have been filled with outrage about tactics by the current President to marginalize critics and dismay about how to respond to such attacks. The demonization of supposed enemies has been done by other narcissists throughout history as a way to solidify political power. Attacks on the press and the judiciary could represent only the first in a number of serious assaults to democracy. If those attacks are successful in muzzling opposition, aggression against legislators and eventually any critics soon will follow.
Because our elected officials in Washington, D.C. are Democrats, they have already experienced such marginalization. One way to stop this dangerous trend is to urge friends and relatives in other states to contact their (especially Republican) congressional representatives and demand that they speak out strongly and repeatedly against these efforts. Ensuring freedom of the press and independence of the three branches of government transcends political affiliation.
George J. Allen, Storrs