Letter: Threats to our country and Constitution

Graphic by Lori Deaton

When I went to grammar school at Claxton, we children were excited to march around in assembly with little American flags and pledging allegiance to our country.

By 1942, when I was 12 years old, we all participated in celebrating the great sacrifices of our American troops, some of whom I remember lived on Farrwood Avenue and Garden Terrace in my neighborhood, and I was often reminded that they went away to war to protect our constitutional way of life.

Brave young black men sat at the Woolworth counter on Haywood Street demanding equal treatment and acceptance under the Constitution.

There were many demonstrations supporting Brown v. Board of Education, which said that under our great Constitution, the students of all-black Stephens-Lee High School could now attend all-white Lee Edwards High School as equal human beings.

As a student in civics class at Lee Edwards High School, I was taught that our Constitution written by dedicated American patriots was sacrosanct.

I attended war rallies in the Asheville Civic Center, and every speech made it very patently clear that our servicemen must be supported with unequaled civic support because our constitutional way of life was threatened.

I was called into the Korean War and answered because I had been imbued with the principle that when my country called me to protect our constitutional way of life, I must answer.

Now our country and our Constitution is again seriously threatened because our President Donald Trump has painted himself in to a corner and can never allow himself to be “Citizen Donald Trump” again.

To read more, go to: avl.mx/66n.

— Jerry Sternberg
Asheville

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11 thoughts on “Letter: Threats to our country and Constitution

  1. Mike R.

    I think you are worried about something that is not going to happen. I didn’t hit your link but assume it has something to do with Trump taking power without due process of elections.

    • luther blissett

      “I didn’t hit your link”

      Maybe try that. The working premise is that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, only impeached and removed from office; if the current president fears prosecution based upon past actions, then…

  2. Richard B.

    TDS is being increasingly acknowledged as a major threat, impacting rational thought, and a free and independent press at all levels.
    When a Democratic congressional committee (Jerry Nadler, et al) is consumed by trying to get a former Executive Branch employee (Hope Hicks) to divulge private conversations within the White House, instead of addressing pressing national security issues, Iran for instance, then TDS is definitely a threat to our Country and to our Constitution.

    • luther blissett

      She would not answer — because White House lawyers wouldn’t let her — where her office was in the West Wing.

      If you want a king who reigns above the law as long as he hates the people you hate, say it out loud.

  3. Gregory Leng

    Another liberal one sided post from Sternberg. Our president is doing for the people exactly why we voted him into office. He will also win again in 2020. Get over it.

    • Mike

      Did you “get over” President Obama’s election or did you advocate for change? Because last time I checked, this is a participatory democracy still. If we as citizens don’t like something, the best thing we can do is participate for its lawful change.

      • Gregory Leng

        I had nothing to get over. I prayed for him just like I do all of our leaders. I never expressed the pure hatred that liberal socialist democrats have with Trump and never would do so even if I did not vote for him.

        • Richard B.

          Amen. Kept hoping Obama would show leadership, get something done, stop law enforcement baiting…kept hoping for the good of the country. Though it became increasingly obvious that my hopes were in vain.

    • NFB

      It’s a letter to the editor. Letters to the editor are “one sided” by definition as they are an expression of the opinion of the writer, just like your one sided post in reply.

      It is also pretty rich to accuse Mr. Sternberg of being “liberal” give his support of Carl Mumpower, Joe Dunn, and others of their ilk in their runs for city council.

    • luther blissett

      Mr Sternberg is best described as a small-c conservative. He only seems liberal to you because you and your peers are far-right zealot who have sacrificed every conservative principle for a man who actively commits every sin you can imagine and some you haven’t.

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