OPINION:
We should be far more horrified by the behavior of federal, state and local government leaders than by the threat of COVID-19 and its variants.
In “The terrifying lessons of COVID-19” (Web, Jan. 5) Judge Andrew P. Napolitano takes the position that “while formally the Constitution still exists, functionally, it has failed miserably, as the deterioration of personal liberty since the spring of 2020 has been as grave as the losses of freedom in the past 100 years.” I agree that our personal liberty has deteriorated — appallingly so — since the start of the COVID-19 scourge. But our personal liberty has been eroding since the Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt presidencies in the early 20th century.
I disagree with Mr. Napolitano’s assertion that the Constitution has failed functionally, as though it were so miserably flawed as to be unworkable as a governing document. The deterioration of personal liberty since the beginning of the 21st century has occurred primarily for two reasons: First, although those we’ve elected to govern us by our consent each swore a solemn oath to faithfully uphold the Constitution and abide by and discharge the laws of the land, they’ve contemptuously ignored their oaths. Second, “We the People” have failed to exercise our rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. We’ve docilely surrendered them to despots and tyrants out of fear and ignorance.
JOHN K. LAMBERT
Silver Spring, Md.
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