In a scene from the film Nuremberg, the psychiatrist Douglas Kelley asks his interpreter Howie, how was it possible that Germans had succumbed to the control and its horrors of the Third Reich. Howie’s response is: “Because good people did nothing until it was too late.” It’s a question we must ask ourselves as a society as we are now witnessing all-out assaults on many of our democratic institutions.
The Executive Order (EO) attempting to create a national “citizenship list” should concern us all as it would empower DHS to obtain sensitive voter information from states to create a federal voter list to be used to limit mail-in ballots. Further the EO calls for criminal prosecution of state election officials that do not comply.
The NAACP, ACLU, Common Cause, 22 attorneys general (not all Democrats), and even the League of Women Voters have filed separate lawsuits to block the EO from taking effect, noting the fact that the Constitution bars such an action. The EO on its face sounds harmless, but it is not. Apart from a few members of Congress, there is little noise about this incredible attempt to limit who of us citizens can vote. This is an issue that should concern us all, we the good people.
Prayer for the Day
Overwhelmed by so much going on around us, O God,
We come to you for more than respite: give us strength;
Frustrated by the inaction of many of our elected leaders, O Lord,
We come to you for more than patience: give us resolve.
Enable us, O Holy One, to act with courage and resolve
So we act before forces beyond our control take over.
In the name of the One who is our source of strength,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The President has no right to pre-approve the list of citizens who can vote in an American election, nor does he have the right to track their ballots through the mail, or to prevent certain ballots from being delivered. Voters choose candidates – candidates do not get to choose their voters.
William F. Galvin, Secretary, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
This executive order doesn’t make clear how the administration will even do what they say they’re doing, which is limiting mail-in voting based on who they say are citizens and eligible voters
Aaron Blacksberg, legal counsel, Institute for Responsive Government
Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
But those who keep the law struggle against them.
The evil do not understand justice,
But those who seek the Lord understand it completely.
Proverbs 28: 4-5