12 February 2025

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“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck” is a phrase that unquestionably applies to the nightmare that the U.S. is currently experiencing. Without naming what is at work, our legislators and our media outlets have tiptoed around what I believe is absolutely true. We are in the throes of a carefully planned and executed coup. A coup is defined as a “sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government.” I think every part of this definition applies to this takeover.
Donald Trump, Elon Musk and his minions, and the MAGA cadre are in the process of disassembling the Constitution, the document that asserts that “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” It’s a document that has made our government accountable to the citizens it represents, and it is being shredded. It is happening at a pace that those who have taken their oath of office seriously cannot keep up with.
I believe naming this assault for what it is, a coup, is an important step in warning our country’s citizenry that what they are witnessing is the destruction of their nation. If our representatives are unable to stop this destruction, it is up to you and me. We need to keep pressure on Congress. If we fail, so does our nation, I fear.
Dana Williams
Belfast