We are not powerless

 

A week ago, I shared that even as an American citizen, I experienced a profound sense of vulnerability when contemplating the expression of views that might be perceived as dissenting, and that, more troubling, I had been witnessing a growing and pervasive silencing born of fear. Since then, the silence is becoming deafening.

Since then, an executive order was signed suspending security clearances for employees of law firm Perkins Coie and targeting the firm's business with federal contractors, citing its diversity practices and political activities. This is deeply concerning. Law firms serve as essential advocates within our judicial system, representing clients as they navigate complex legal frameworks and exercise their rights. This attorney-client relationship is fundamental to ensuring all citizens have meaningful access to justice and can pursue available legal protections and remedies. Law firms and attorneys are not political activists or partisans.

Moreover, there is a misconception that the principal-agent relationship is dyadic, when in reality, it is a triadic relationship. This is evident in how each state’s oath of admission to the bar varies in wording, but they all require attorneys: to support the Constitution of the United States, to faithfully discharge the duties of an attorney, and to conduct themselves with integrity and civility. Again, lawyers are not activists, they act on behalf of clients, helping them pursue legal protections, remedies, or clarifications. When governments target law firms based on the clients they represent, they are in essence targeting dissenting clients, silencing their voices and potentially impairing their ability to find legal representation. So, I too stand with Perkins Coie

Since then, Canada continues to have its sovereignty and independence threatened by almost daily suggestions that it should become the “cherished 51st US state”. Is this a manifestation of the proposed interpretation of ordo amoris that would negate even the smallest amount of respect, dignity, and self-determination to, quite literally, our closest neighbor and ally? Can we just for a moment empathize with what our Canadian neighbors and allies must be feeling, and how our silence is exacerbating anxiety, fear, and concern? Moreover, this dystopian blend of American exceptionalism with a limitless doctrine of discovery goes against every principle of International law, and against the world order that the U.S. fought so hard for, and for which many Americans gave their last full measure of service and devotion. So, I too stand with the frameworks of International Law the US helped to shape, and I stand with the respect for the sovereignty of nation states.

Since then, the category of people allowed constitutional protection under the First Amendment is being tested and challenged. If permanent residents are stripped of this protection, then who's next, naturalized citizens like me, then citizens like you? Let’s never forget that the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that “[t]he freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state” City of Houston, Tex. v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451, 462–63 (1987). “The First Amendment prohibits government officials from subjecting an individual to retaliatory actions . . . for speaking out.” Hartman v. Moore, 547 U.S. 250, 256 (2006). “To allow this retaliatory conduct to proceed would broadly chill protected speech, among not only activists subject to final orders of deportation but also those citizens and other residents who would fear retaliation against others.” Ragbir v. Homan 923 F.3d 53 (2d Cir. 2019). So, I too stand with the First Amendment.

Since then, universities have been threatened with, or have already experienced, essential funding cuts, leading to hiring freezes and to the rescission of countless graduate program offer letters. Today also marked the start of the de facto dismantling of the Department of Education, with nearly 50% of its workforce being terminated.

Without research—at universities, medical schools, and research institutions across the nation—medical breakthroughs and technological advancements will gravely suffer. This will have severe negative impacts in our standing as a technological superpower, affecting the US's competitiveness, its agency, and its voice as a stakeholder in scientific advancement. Without a Department of Education, accessibility, equity, and opportunity will suffer. Again, I find it anathema to the theory of ordo amoristhat we would exclude our own children from that grace by denying them a meaningful future. So, I too stand with our children, and for scientific research.

I could go on, but this is not something I can face alone. Quite honestly, sometimes my own fears question why I should speak up when others do not. I am a recent naturalized citizen, potentially next of the categories of others to be deemed deserving of less constitutional protections. I have deep conflict anxiety and suffer from generational trauma. But then I recall that I took an oath recently to defend the Constitution of the United States, and I recall it being one of the most meaningful and defining moments in my life. I love this country and what it stands for, and I still believe that everything that is unfolding is a violation of both, and of the oath that we all embraced. We are not yet powerless. Whether through letters to representatives, community organizing, or simply breaking the silence in our own circles—our participation matters now more than ever.