GVCP member Jim Allen wrote this letter to the editor of the Livingston County News. It was published on December 6th.
Each of us will have to struggle with what becomes of our country on January 20th. Each of us should be prepared for the struggle with our own red lines. Reading what Jim wrote is a good way to get started.
To the Editor:
Trump is truly a threat to all, particularly to those fellow citizens who are already oppressed and are the weakest and most vulnerable among us. I am terribly frightened about what Trump might do. Therefore, I have been working on a note to myself that indicates my personal RED LINE: the action Trump could take that would be a step too far. What would send me to the barricades? At what point would I no longer just protest, but feel compelled to (peacefully) put my body between Trump and the destruction he seeks to sow?
Would it be shooting peaceful protestors? Tearing crying children away from their undocumented and soon-to-be-deported parents? A sham prosecution of Jack Smith or Letitia James? Shutting down the opposition press and jailing journalists? Suspending the Constitution? Some specific use of the military against the “enemy within”? Appointing an avowed racist to the Supreme Court? Suspending the 2026 midterm elections? Some action he takes to eliminate any possibility of averting the worst effects of climate change?
I need to identify a specific act that would lead me to say, “That’s it, enough!” I want to put this note in a drawer and check it periodically. I fear that without this note, I’ll feel a sense of complacency, and each of Trump’s horrible acts will become normalized and acceptable until it’s too late for any counteraction to matter. I fear that I will not recognize the RED LINE when it is crossed unless I clearly identify it now.
I haven’t fully decided what my RED LINE is, but I urge all people of conscience to write a note for themselves.
James Allen