Rocky Anderson: People of Conscience, Challenge the President!

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http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080616/anderson

People of Conscience, Challenge the President!
Moral Compass
By Ross C. Anderson

May 30, 2008


Human rights activist Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson, former mayor of Salt Lake City, delivered these remarks May 28, on the occasion of a visit by President Bush. They are published here as part of the ongoing Moral Compass series, focusing on the spoken word.

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One thing is clear: We have lost so much when we have abandoned, with the complacent acceptance of so many Americans, our moral bearings as a nation; when we have transformed our system of government from a constitutional democracy to a totalitarian, human-rights abuser; when we have abandoned the moral high road that has been the source of admiration throughout much of the world; when we have witnessed, without any meaningful challenge, the assertion of the President that he is not bound by the Constitution, treaty obligations, or laws passed by Congress; and when we have allowed the Executive Branch, without so much as an audible whimper from a spineless Congress, to engage in felonious, unconstitutional electronic surveillance of our telephone and e-mail communications.

Those of us gathered here today will proudly continue to call for a return to our constitutional democracy and the rule of law.

We will proudly continue to call for consistency between our professed moral, religious, and humanitarian traditions and our actions, individually and as a nation.

And we will proudly continue to stand tall as patriotic Americans, insisting that our leaders in the Executive Branch and Congress provide principled, competent, lawful leadership, in times of conflict as well as in times of peace.

We recognize that the protections of our Constitution, and our obligations under treaties, are to be honored at all times--and that the deviations from those commitments in times of war or other national emergency can produce extraordinary mischief, particularly by an Administration that has made it so clear that it intends to assume unlimited, monarchical power, without constraint and without accountability.

Let us all, without regard to political partisanship, join together in restoring our democracy, restoring the rule of law, and restoring our nation's moral standing on history's high road.

Let us never be silenced. Let us always stand against wrongdoing. And let us exercise our moral agency in every way we can to build a safer, more peaceful, compassionate world together.